


Journey Begins

by Xmenfan33



Series: Fullmetal Dadchemist [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, During Canon, Ed's doing his best, Edward is Harry's dad, F/M, Family, Humor, Mustang's Team, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Parental Roy Mustang
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 64,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25948414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xmenfan33/pseuds/Xmenfan33
Summary: Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, has returned to his search for the Philosopher's Stone after adjusting to his new roll of fatherhood. But when he uncovers a hidden agenda he finds himself, his friends, and his family in peril; and in a race to uncover the truth, save his family, and the country.Book Two of FULLMETAL DADCHEMIST Cross posted on FF.net
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Edward Elric & Harry Potter(Yuery Elric), Edward Elric & Ling Yao, Edward Elric & Roy Mustang, Edward Elric & Team Mustang, Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Pre-Relationship - Relationship
Series: Fullmetal Dadchemist [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862371
Comments: 118
Kudos: 148





	1. City of Heresy

**Author's Note:**

> This book takes place during Fullmetal Alchemist. Harry Potter is Yuery Elric.

City of Heresy

Loire

10:35 am

The short blond boy dressed inadvisably in black leather with a heavy red overcoat sat at the counter next to a large figure dressed in full armor. One would assume this would raise at least eyebrows but in the border towns they tend to see oddly dressed and behaving people passing through. This would in their favor to an extent, until the smaller one began asking questions.

The smaller boy, Edward Elric, known as The Fullmetal Alchemist, was not in the mood for subtle. It had been an awfully long hot day already and it wasn't even noon. He just wanted to figure out what was going on in this town, search for clues on the Stone, and get home. He wasn't in the mood for some random religious nut exploiting people for his own gain…not that Ed was ever in the mood for such behavior.

After they managed to get information out of the locals, and headed over to the church, Ed talked to Rose. Or rather he lectured her on the foolishness of her beliefs. He had promised himself he would stay out of any of these philosophical debates with the locals because it would just make the mission more complicated… but then he saw the desperation in her eyes and heard it in her voice. He recognized that desperation, it led to bad places. Places that made the impossible seem logical and cost far higher than you could imagine before you began.

After managing to convey none of what he had meant to be helpful advice, he was led to Father Cornello. It was not surprising considering the way the rest of the trip had gone, but the double cross was actually almost insulting. After they managed to get away, and Al took Rose to safety while Ed waited in the man's office, he considered using the man's phone to check in but before he could do more than reach for the phone he was interrupted.

Loire Hotel

8:30 pm

That evening, after his final bit of badly dispensed advice to Rose, he was surprised they were actually welcome at the local inn. Normally he would have insisted on running to the next town over before relaxing enough to sleep, but this had been an exhausting day and he just wanted sleep.

They received their room key, and he handed it over to Al before stating. "I'm going to call and check in you go ahead up to the room; I'll be up after I find something for dinner."

"Okay Brother, don't go far." Al said before heading up the stairs. Ed looked around for the phones.

They were around the corner tucked away next to the bathrooms. Ed dug the change out leaned against the wall after he dialed the familiar number. It rang a couple of times before the line picked up. "Hey, it's me." Ed said well aware of how tired he sounded.

"Public line?" Mustang asked in response.

"Yeah, open payphone next to the bathrooms. How's Yu? Oh, and Cobalt?"

"They're fine. I assume by your tone you'll be heading back tomorrow?"

"Yeah, the whole damn thing was a bust. Dead end." Ed said trying not to sound depressed about it.

"Hey. Next time, okay?" Mustang said trying to comfort the best he could over the phone, especially an unsecured line.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll have a full report ready when I get there. I'm going to go find food and a pillow. We'll be on the first train out tomorrow." Ed said, before hanging up and turning to head toward the dining room.

Rose was standing near him, by the entry of the dining room, so he sighed heavily but gestured for her to join him. If he didn't get food in him soon, he would get grouchy and no one wanted that. Rose didn't speak until after they had ordered. "Thank you. For dinner I mean… For being willing to talk to me as well I guess."

"Eh, I kinda owe you at least a dinner after turning your whole life upside down. Not that I regret doing that. It had to be done so if you plan on threatening me or whatever I would prefer if we ate first since my stomach is about to eat itself at this point." Edward said in a failed attempt at being nice.

"No, you were right. About the church. He was never going to even try to help me…was he?"

"No, he wasn't. To be fair, it isn't possible Rose. Life flows one direction and when you attempt to alter that flow it costs far more than it's worth." Ed said as he clutched a fist in his right hand.

"Who were you on the phone with? If I'm not being to forward?" Rose asked after a minute of him still staring down at his hand. She wanted to ask him more about what came next, but he seemed distracted, maybe changing the subject would help and then she could sneak her questions back into the conversation.

"Babysitter. My Boss. Depends on who you ask." Ed said absently with a yawn. "Look, I don't know what else I can really do for you or say. Just keep moving forward and one day you'll moved so far ahead it will be a pain you can breathe through… it may even fade to simple regret. But if you keep pursuing the impossible the pain, it just keeps hitting in new forms. "

"I don't understand."

"Good. Keep it that way." Ed said as the food arrived, and he stopped talking in favor of shoving food into his mouth as fast as possible.

"You're a state alchemist, why would you need to be babysat?" Rose asked suddenly, causing Ed to choke on an aborted laugh.

After he managed to clear his airway and took a sip of water he said in a raspy voice. "I don't need a babysitter for myself; my son is about to turn seven months in a few days."

"Um… I thought you were about my age?" Rose asked in confusion as she looked over the boy across from her.

"Dunno. How old are you?" Ed asked around a bite of food.

"Sixteen, seventeen next month."

"Just turned fifteen myself. What can I say, I'm kinda the king of impulsive life choices? The good news is I never make the same mistake twice?" Ed said with a shrug, as he grabbed the last roll because he only had to be polite for a few minutes and if the other diners hadn't taken it by then it was up for grabs. House rules.

"You were fourteen when you had him?"

"I was fourteen when he was born. I didn't have him, that's not how it works, but yeah. Like I said impulsive choices."

"I see." Rose said now sounding a little uncomfortable. Ed understood, he wasn't the only teen parent in the country, but it wasn't common either. Not that he felt like explaining the complicated and bizarre way he came into parenthood even if he didn't have a cover story to maintain.

"Here I have some photos." Ed said as he pulled a stack of photos out that was small enough for Hughes to have dubbed it 'a good start' and thick enough to have made Mustang groan. Rose for her part seemed wary not that Ed noticed once he was in 'dad mode'. "Here this one was taken last week. It was his first-time eating peas. It turned out that he hated them, and this one was a week before that when he was playing with our cat. Cobalt enjoys Yuery's attention. Here another one, this time he was trying to crawl. He didn't really get any further than pulling his knees beneath him but yeah."

"You seem very proud of him." Rose said attempting to distract him from the picture show. "He takes after his mom I assume?"

"What do you mean, he looks just like me." Ed said completely straight faced. Rose sputtered for a moment in confusion before he started laughing and added. "I'm just messing with you, yeah he looks just like Emma."

The Emma story was getting easier to tell every time and Mustang had encouraged him to go over it as often as people brought it up to make it easier, much like his train bombing story to cover his missing limbs and his brother's armor. Rose had opened the conversation, so he was guiltless. He pulled the other photo out, the one he kept for when someone brought up Yuery not looking like him. It was a photo of a raven-haired girl about Ed's age sitting in a hospital bed holding a bundle that had to be a newborn. He had put the photo in his wallet once he had been given permission to remove it from his desk. To make it fit he had folded it in half and as a result it was beginning to look a bit frayed and faded.

Luckily, he had additional copies of the photos hidden in his apartment, so he wasn't overly concerned with the photo being ruined, and the frayed look made it look better according to Mustang for some reason. Rose looked at the photo out of politeness before handing it back with a small smile. "She's very pretty, you have a nice-looking family."

"She was pretty, yeah." Ed said.

"Did something happen to her?" Rose asked in a cautious tone.

"She died about four months ago."

"Oh! I'm sorry." Rose said, as she decided internally that it explained a lot of his gruff behavior toward her and her own mourning. He had to still be mourning himself. She felt a little selfish thinking as she had that he had no idea what he was talking about when he'd lectured her. Now though with this new information, he was simply speaking from one broken heart to another.

Ed had no idea this was her thought process, or it would have launched him into another lecture. His motives for being so harsh with her was simple. He saw it in her eyes, she was desperate enough to try it herself. He put his stack of photos back in one of his many pockets before continuing his meal. The intentional silence grew awkward for her, before she finished her own meal and excused herself. He sighed with relief as she left. He had hoped to avoid a second round of 'What do I do now' and for whatever reason that showing off his son's photos held, they worked. He would have to remember that for the future. Apparently, showing off baby photos threw off lectures and begging. No wonder Hughes always kept them on hand.

After settling the bill, Ed made his way up to the room where Al waited reading a book. As soon as Ed came in though he set the book aside and looked expectantly at his brother. Ed rolled his eyes before answering the unasked question. "LazyCat is fine and perfectly happy to be visiting the Colonel who is spoiling her rotten. Yuery is also well, thanks for your concern. Dinner was passable, some kind of meat pie, kind of bland but big… nothing to bother with for your food list."

"Her name is Cobalt as you well know Brother. And I was going to ask after the baby so don't be like that." Al said with a sigh. "What kept you if everything was fine?"

"That church girl showed up, eavesdropping on my phone call too, so I bought her dinner and showed off photos of Yu until she left for some reason… I don't know maybe she just wanted a free meal." Ed said as he changed into his sleep shirt and threw his pants over a chair. He climbed into bed and yawned largely.

"Well she seemed nice at first, but then I think she may be a bit lonely or something." Al said as he turned off the light and picked back up his book. The limited light of the moon would cause eyestrain if he had eyes, but there was just enough light for him to see the pages. Before he could say anything else his brother was already snoring softly.

Train bound for East City leaving at seven thirty…

7:35 am

Al ran ahead as the train began to pick up speed and his brother trailed a few steps behind. He jumped onto the caboose platform before reaching out for his brother and helped Ed onto the train. "That was close Brother." Al said as Ed straightened his coat and the entered the rear door.

"That was too close. I'm getting to old for this crap Al." Ed complained as they made their way through the cars in search of an open space. He sighed in grateful frustration as he finally found a seat three cars from the engine.

"You are barely fifteen Brother; you are hardly old." Al said as he sat across from Ed.

"Age and being too old are separate issues Al." Ed muttered grumpily. He rubbed his shoulder port absently, as he tried to stretch out his leg. Both had been aching heavily all morning, as commonly occurred following either bad weather or an alchemic battle. Fighting in general took a toll, but the use of his powers clashing against another's caused pain in his stumps.

It didn't help matters that his gait was feeling uneven lately. Really, he needed to take the time to return to Resembool to have his leg adjusted. Unfortunately, that would then lead to an extremely uncomfortable conversation with his friend and mechanic, Winry. Edward had promised Al that he would talk to her as soon as he could, but then he had managed to avoid the conversation for the last three months since he'd made it.

Al was watching him in that way he did when he knew Ed was in pain and pretending not to be, and it was annoying him. With a heavy sigh Ed slumped over in his seat to nap, he muttered to Al. "I had a long night, kept waking up looking for Yu."

Al sighed as he said. "I know. Still, that's not all of it. You need to go see Winry and Granny Ed. You're starting to limp, and it's causing you pain. I know you're putting off telling them about the baby but really Brother this stubbornness is only hurting you."

"I know, I know. Look, I'll talk to Mustang and if the lazy Bastard hasn't found anything new for us, I'll see if he can spare me for a bit to head out to the country for a few days. It still may have to wait though Al, I can't just take off now that I've been working in the office. What if they need me for something?"

"You and I both know your office job is just busy work so you could have an excuse not to look into nannies. Mr. Mustang will let you go if you bring it up to him, he's been extra nice lately." Al said, then with a sly tone added. "Besides, your gait being off means you grew taller since your last adjustment, don't you want to show it off?"

Ed snored in return before Al sighed a second time and turned his attention to his journal. Things had been strained between them since Yuery's arrival a few months earlier. Alphonse, if he was to be honest with himself, knew that he was the primary source of the strain

. He was frustrated with his brother, and annoyed that Edward had been keeping things from him. He knew it was petty and selfish, but he was also annoyed that their journey had suffered from these delays. He couldn't voice that aloud to anyone. He did believe his brother that this baby situation wasn't planned even if he didn't believe Ed about where that child had come from. This was part of the problem. Al didn't believe Ed about the baby's origins even if it did fit in well with all the random craziness that seemed to follow them around. Al just wanted things to go back to normal and for them to find a stone and then just… just live he supposed.

Ed did look exhausted lately, which concerned Al too. Ed was spending every weekday in the office, evenings researching and going through his exercises, and nights caring for Yuery. Ed needed sleep, sometimes it seemed like he needed more than most people, and he wasn't getting it. There was no use in fretting though, so he made his way back to the dining car to collect something for Ed to eat once he woke up. Ed had skipped breakfast to make the train.


	2. Trials of Childcare

Trials of Childcare

East City

Colonel Roy Mustang's Office

10:35 am

The office was its usual hive of activity.1st Lt Riza Hawkeye was distributing paperwork while 2nd Lt Jean Havoc attempted to drown himself in a cup of coffee while mourning his latest break up, and 2nd Lt Heymans Breda was eating a sandwich; Warrant Officer Vato Falman was already working on his stack of files, and Master Sergeant Kain Fuery was working on a broken radio. At his desk in the corner of the office, Colonel Roy Mustang sat ideally twirling a pen in one hand while reading the first of a large stack of papers in front of him.

Next to an empty desk sat a wooden playpen containing a young infant about six or seven months old. The child had become a regular fixture in the office, and as long as he played quietly no one strayed from their work. When he cried however, the group would scramble to attend his needs in the absence of his father. Yuery Elric was somewhat a team mascot, not that anyone in this room was foolish enough to even think such a thing around Edward or their commander.

After the first disastrous attempt at leaving Havoc in charge of the child while away on a mission, Edward had begrudgingly decided the best person for the job was Mustang himself. Since then, anytime Mustang assigned Edward a mission the baby was dropped off, along with a cat, at Mustang's townhouse before the Elrics caught the train, as such no one had been surprised when Mustang had arrived this morning a bit late with Yuery, a large diaper bag, his own briefcase, and a large cup of coffee.

Everything was running smoothly as usual, which is to say it was still early enough in the day that Hawkeye was not yet threatening them, and they were still pretending to be busy. Mustang's eyes kept creeping back to the windows in the way Hawkeye recognized as the inevitable office scrubbing that would take place by the end of the day. Apparently Yuery was very close to crawling, and much like when he learned to roll, a frenzy of babyproofing had occurred in the office, lead primarily by Edward and Mustang himself.

It was then almost a relief to her when the call came in that they had a situation downtown. Mustang gave everyone their orders as they rushed from the office in a flurry of loose papers and overlapping voices. The empty silence that followed ticked seconds off the clock before Mustang and Hawkeye rushed back into the room and Mustang scooped the baby out of his playpen. "No one tells Fullmetal that happened. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir, of course." Hawkeye replied before settling back at her desk and Mustang went to his inner office to brood and avoid paperwork, Yuery in his arms.

East City

Mustang Residence

8:30 pm

After ending the phone call with Edward, Roy returned his attention to the infant sitting at his feet on a soft blanket filled with brightly colored blocked and rattles. "Well, it looks like your Dad will be back tomorrow evening." He said as he scooped up the raven-haired infant. Large emerald eyes turned toward him as he smiled down at the boy.

"Ah Da Uh." The baby said with a serious expression, making Roy smile.

"Yes, that's right Yu, Daddy will be here later." Roy said as the baby broke into a smile. "Now though, it is time for your bottle and bed." He carried the baby through to the kitchen where he shooed the kitten off of his table and heated a bottle of milk.

He then turned to the stairs and carried the baby to his room and sat on the edge of his bed to feed Yuery. This had become very routine, very quickly. The baby sucked on the bottle for a few minutes before pushing it away with an angry snort. Roy sighed. The last few days, Yuery was fighting every bottle. If Roy didn't know better, he would blame it on Ed and say this newfound milk rejection was genetic. Perhaps he simply wasn't feeling well, or maybe it was environmental. It was hardly a secret that Ed felt milk was vile, perhaps the baby had somehow picked up on that?

Roy shook his head at the idea, before he decided perhaps it was time to consult the Baby Guru. He walked back downstairs and deposited the baby back on the play blanket before dialing the phone. Later, he would blame interrupted sleep patterns on the lapse of judgement in willingly calling Maes Hughes for child advice. It wasn't as if Roy knew nothing about children himself, he had years of experience caring for the children younger than him when he was growing up. He had cared for Elicia as well, on occasion whenever he could, so he was hardly a novice.

Maes answered the phone himself, and Roy briefly considered just hanging up, before he felt childish at the idea. "Hello Hughes." He said smoothly, as he racked his brain for an excuse for his call.

"Roy! It's good to hear from you, and unexpected this late!" Hughes said happily as a shuffling could be heard in the background then the closing of a door. "The line's secure. What's wrong?" Hughes said in an entirely different tone.

"Nothing." Roy said, adding at the sound of Hughes' scoff. "I was simply calling to say hello."

"Uh huh." Hughes said as his tone shifted back to a happy tone. "So, have you found yourself a wife yet?"

"Dammit Hughes!" Roy said before his eyes leapt to the baby at his feet, and he reminded himself not to swear. "Don't make me curse around Yuery, you're supposed to be a family man."

"Oh, so Edward is away again? Is everything alright?"

"It's fine. Everything's fine. Apparently, Yu has decided he agrees with his father about milk but otherwise it's fine." Roy said, deciding if he's going to be tormented either way, he might as well get advice instead of resorting to calling his aunt.

"Hmm. Is he rejecting it outright, or is it periodic? Perhaps it's the milk starting to turn?" Hughes said without bothering to tease.

"It's canned, it smells fine." Roy said with a weary sigh. "I meant to ask Edward about it when he phoned earlier but then he called from a public line."

"I'd try giving him fresh instead. He probably is rejecting the tinny taste…or you could be right that he just takes after his father."

"Would he be allowed fresh milk? I was under the understanding that canned milk was best for him."

"It would depend I suppose. Elicia was about ten months before she insisted on fresh, but each child is different." Hughes said. "How much did he eat at dinner? He could still just be full."

"He had two bowls of oatmeal."

"Did you make it with milk?"

"Of course."

"Then he should be fine." Hughes said, before pausing thoughtfully. "It really is just too bad you don't have a wife to help you with this."

Roy slammed the phone down, irritated. That was exactly why he hated calling his friend. Hughes was obsessed with Roy's love life. At least he offered some advice however, so Roy was at least grateful for that. He smiled down at the baby who now finally seemed tired. Scooping the baby back up, Roy decided to put the bottle away and worry about it in the morning or if he cried for it later. Once again, he shooed the cat off the table before putting the bottle in the fridge.

He carried the baby back upstairs and laid them both down, before picking up his book to read for a while. Tomorrow Edward would collect his child and cat, and Roy could confirm he was available to meet Vivian tomorrow night. He had hesitantly agreed earlier in the evening with a promise to confirm in the morning.

He had an image and a routine to maintain and couldn't allow anyone watching to think he was in anyway distracted by the addition of a third child in his office. Even if two of them were unofficial and hopefully unnoticed by the eyes of Central. The longer Yuery remained rumor the better.

His mind drifted to the rumors he had been hearing lately, trying to decide if any of them would be worth looking into though none seemed to be promising. He felt a stab of guilt when it crossed his mind briefly that it was probably for the best because then he wouldn't be able to send Edward right back out again. Sighing he whispered. "Hughes says I'm a dad. My God. He's right."

This thought chased away all inclinations of sleep to be replaced with panic. Roy Mustang was NOT a father; he couldn't be a father; he gave up the idea of ever wanting to BE a father when he decided to fix everything wrong with his country because a family was an exploitable weakness… and yet somehow somewhere along the way he began regarding these kids as his. This was completely unacceptable. Clearly, he needed more sleep. Yes, that was it, he simply needed to catch up on his sleep and this would pass. Or maybe it was something he ate didn't agree with his system because otherwise he was in serious trouble!

This never would have happened if Edward had carried on with his traveling around the countryside barely checking in and letting Roy forget that he was the monster that recruited a literal child into the military… though to be fair it was the only way to ensure the boys' safety after what they had done… plus, who knew what horrors would have befallen poor little Yuery had he been left to his fate. No thinking about it, Roy knew that this unfortunate parental bond was the lesser of many evils. He just had to be sure to never ever mention to anyone. Especially Edward. Especially Hughes. Hughes would never let it go.

East HQ

Mustang's Office

1:00 pm

The office was a hive of activity, not official military activity, but activity, nonetheless. Yuery had managed to crawl a few inches that morning, and Mustang's reaction was 1) No one was to tell Fullmetal and allow him to think he spotted Yuery's first time and 2) Everything needed to be cleaned and baby proofed.

It started normally enough for a Friday. Mustang had arrived with the baby as he had the day before, just after everyone else, and everyone had settled into a long day of document signing. Then, just after his mid-morning nap, Yuery had flipped himself over onto his belly then up onto his knees. He then shakily made his way forward until he could grab his favorite toy, a stuffed slightly dingy looking pony named 'Horse' by Ed and "Ba" by Yuery.

Mustang had watched the entire event. Then he let out a rather undignified whoop that he would deny forever. He scooped up the baby and did a happy little spin around the room while saying "Did you get Ba all by yourself? Yes, you did!".

This would likely had served to embarrass him, if not for the other four grown man also celebrating loudly. Hawkeye, the only woman and the most reserved of the group had joined the crowd of celebrators to pluck the baby from Mustang's arms and smile down at him before saying. "You know that you dislodge the toy from his arms when you picked him up sir. I suggest that we return to work"

"I agree Lt. We must get to work immediately, Havoc, Fuery take the left side of the room. Breda, Falman take the right side. I need to clean those windows…and baseboards." At this point, Falman made the terrible, terrible mistake of attempting to remind everyone they had already babyproofed the office a few months ago and then again, a few weeks after that. He was now in charge of cleaning all the light fixtures. Havoc and Fuery were ensuring nothing below waist level were a choking hazard. Breda was adding padding to all sharp corners, Mustang was washing the windows, and Hawkeye was ignoring them all as she continued her stacks of paperwork.

None of them noticed the red cloaked teenager leaning on the doorframe at first, as he watched them with an amused smirk before he said casually. "If I'd known it was cleaning day, I would have booked a later train." He then laughed at making seasoned military men jump out of their skin. Everyone was quick to explain away their activities as he waived them off. "Relax, I was never here. After all I wasn't scheduled to return until at least tomorrow. I'm just picking up Yuery on the way home."

"Your train was not scheduled until 6." Mustang said without pausing in the long slow swipes across the panes.

"I woke up for the third time at two and couldn't get back to sleep so we decided to stop wasting time and took the seven thirty express." Ed said with a shrug. "Is there an inspection coming or something?"

"No, not at all, I simply decided it was time to deep clean the office again." Mustang said this time actually pausing long enough to look over his shoulder at the teen.

Ed made his way over to the playpen where his son was happily playing until he noticed his father at which point, he squealed and once again crawled a few shaky steps. Ed's eye widened before he pointed at the baby and yelled. "Did you all see that?! He crawled! My baby actually crawled!"

A second, just as genuine as the first, celebration started in the office. Ed finally gathered up his son and their things before moving toward the door while still praising the child as well as thanking his luck that the baby decided to wait to crawl until he arrived since he kind of assumed that was how it would go. As he left Mustang reminded him to come to dinner and pick up the cat. Work could wait until Monday thankfully.

7:00pm

Mustang Residence

Edward arrived with his brother and son in tow just after Roy to collect their cat. Roy, having expected this event, had made sure to bring enough take out to feed Edward and Yuery as well as himself. He invited them to stay for dinner, and they agreed.

Yuery was sitting between Roy and Edward at the table happily banging on the tray as the two men dished out noodles and vegetables into bowls and Alphonse sat on the floor playing with his cat. The cat, Cobalt, had been a combination gift and bribe from his brother shortly after moving into their new place a few weeks ago. Edward had insisted that in exchange for the cat, Alphonse had to agree to not pick up anymore strays and that he could no longer bring up the subject of Yuery's birth mother. So far, Al had managed to (barely) keep his word, though there had been an alarming number of stray cats tucked away into an empty apartment building near their place during the last rainstorm, none had made it to their place. As far as Yuery went, Al would still bring it up in off handed way without ever actually mentioning her.

It was an uneasy truce, temporary at best. The worst part for Ed was that he found himself growing very attached to the cat, whom he called LazyCat, and wasn't sure if he could bring himself to carry through with his long standing threat to get rid of the thing should Al break his end of the bargain. It was pretty much a done deal that the cat was staying when Yuery dubbed the darn thing 'Ka' excitedly this evening. Not that Al needed to know that.

"Yu decided he likes sprawling completely across the bed this week. He left just enough room for the cat. How someone that young can take up that much space I have no idea, but I felt I should warn you." Roy said as they began eating.

"Oh yeah, I was worried about that, last week he started getting really restless unless he was able to press up to my right arm. I had to rearrange the bedroom and fashion this weird arm sleeve to keep him from hurting himself." Ed replied, before shoving another bite into his mouth barely bothering to chew before swallowing as he continued. "So, what didja do if he wouldn't let you in?"

"I made the cat move and curled up on the edge. I wasn't leaving him to sleep all alone and decide to roll off the bed or something. Maybe he should sleep in his crib if he wants to sleep alone. It's right next to my bed after all. Do you even own a crib?"

"Yeah, I was worried he'd knock over his cradle with all his wiggling about, so I upgraded him for when I need to work out." Ed said with a shrug. "Plus, now that Al is willing to sit with him sometimes, I can go back to taking showers without him if I set him in the crib."

"Hmm… So, no objections to the crib when he stays over then?"

"Nope, as long as he's right next to you. Just don't leave him alone. He shouldn't be alone."

"Brother, the books say he's old enough to sleep alone now if we have the room, which we don't, so he would be alright." Al said from the floor.

"Those books don't know what they're talking about. Not one has listed any scientific data to back up their claims. They are simply a guideline." Ed dismissed.

"Did you just claim an entire category of books worthless?" Roy asked a little surprised, as Ed had never said such a thing around him before. Ed had even grudgingly admitted that fairy tales served the purpose of teaching moral lessons to young children.

"Brother always says that when the book says something he doesn't agree with, but if it does agree with him, he will shove the book at you as if it's the law." Al said, shrugging before he left to gather up the cat's carrier.

"He's exaggerating you know." Ed said while helping to clear the table. Without asking he filled the sink and started the dishes because he had manners beaten into his head by all the mother figures of his life and if someone fed you, you cleaned up after. "Just because I disagree with a few subjects and questioned the logic of some of it, now I'm unreasonable."

"What subjects?"

"Mostly stuff about Yu needing his own room. I never had my own room, and I turned out fine." Ed said with a shrug. "Al says I use Yu as a security blanket because I can barely sleep when we're out on the road, but I'm just used to listening for him, so I wake up if I don't hear him. I go right back to sleep."

"I'm fairly certain that is common from what I've heard from the parents I know, especially with the traumas both of you have suffered." Roy said, Ed nodded clearly glad that someone was agreeing with him about the whole thing.


	3. Troublesome Phone Call and Arguing with Milk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Most people would question what a trip to the library had to do with his brother and son betraying him, but Al was not most people. He was also unaware of be branded a traitor

Troublesome Phone Call and Arguing with Milk

Elric Apartment

9:00 am

Al returned to the apartment carrying a bag of pastries and cup of coffee for his brother, to the sound of Ed arguing once again with his son in the bedroom. "Come on Yu! I know it's gross and terrible and shouldn't even exist, but all the books agree you have to drink your milk! Please just take it."

Al shook his head as he announced his return and placed the items on the table. Ed emerged with the baby riding on his left hip and a frown on his face, carrying a completely full milk bottle in his right hand. He frowned as he set the bottle down and picked up his coffee. The baby reached for the cup, but Ed held it carefully away from his reach.

"He won't take his milk for me; do you want to give it a try?" Ed asked with a frustrated tone. "I think maybe I need to go buy him some of those special cups with lids."

"Maybe you should lead by example Brother. Show him milk isn't terrible by drinking it in front of him instead of telling him you agree with him, but he has to do it anyway."

"I am not drinking it and you can't make me. He needs to know that sometimes Dad tells him to do stuff he doesn't like but he has to do it anyway." Ed said, semi quoting the same thing he'd heard more than once as a child… and a variant thereof since working under Mustang.

Instead of arguing further Al took pity on his brother and took the baby and his bottle to coax the baby into drinking his bottle. Ed sat on the counter instead of at the table so he could watch as his brother managed to get Yuery to finish the bottle with almost no fuss. Ed decided they were both traitors, and that the only reasonable solution was a trip to the library.

Most people would question what a trip to the library had to do with his brother and son betraying him, but Al was not most people. He was also unaware of be branded a traitor. The library was their favorite place in the city, and both brothers spent far more time in the stacks of books than they did anywhere else. The last few months since the baby arrived Ed had been forced to spend less time than usual there since Mustang decided Ed had to be watched to avoid any further life altering impulsive choices. Ed had a track record after all.

He was known for doing things like pulling down buildings, breaking bridges, cracking dams, busting his arm, and most recently bringing home a baby and trying to hide him under his coat. Ed still didn't understand the fuss, but he had given up on figuring it out. Instead he had done his time behind the desk, and now was spending most of his free time studying again as if the break had never happened. Unfortunately, if he understood Mustang correctly, he was still going to have to spend more time in the office than he used to.

Not that that would be hard considering he barely knew any of them in the office before now, he knew them by name and rank, but it wasn't until Yuery came along that he knew Falman collected stamps, or that Breda was great at chess, or that Havoc should NEVER be allowed to babysit, or that Fuery had the best jokes. He learned that Hawkeye was the den mother of everyone in the office, but she herself was terrible at eating or sleeping unless Mustang nagged her into it; She of course did the same for him. Mustang was kind. This had been the strangest revelation to Ed thanks to the office time. Not kind in an 'I'm working an angle' way no it was kind in an 'I actually care what happens to people' way that floored Ed and made him reevaluate how he viewed the man.

He would never willingly admit to anyone, even himself, but he was glad Mustang watched out for them. A few months ago, he never would have thought such a thing, not until he needed help taking care of a new baby and Mustang had stepped in. It was almost like having a parent of his own… not that Mustang would be pleased with such a comparison. Heck ED wasn't comfortable with it. Shaking himself from his thoughts, Ed settled himself into his latest stack of books, Al next to him and Yuery in the baby carrier on his chest.

A few hours of study were what he needed to get back on track, but he knew he would catch back up. He owed that much to his brother. "Did you remember to ask about taking a week or so to visit WInry and Granny?" Al asked suddenly.

"No, it slipped my mind. I'll pop by this afternoon and ask about if you'd like." Ed said quietly so as to not wake the sleeping baby or interrupt the calm of the building.

"You could go over there now, and then we would be able to leave this afternoon." Al said hopefully.

"We still couldn't go until this evening earliest. We'd have to wait to drop of LazyCat until Mustang got off work, and I still need to turn in my Loire report."

"Why are we at the library if you haven't finished your report?" Al admonished. "And her name is Cobalt."

"I have finished it, but I wasn't turning it in until he made a fuss so he can't send me right back out, lousy bastard." Ed complained. "I'll give it to him when it's due and not a second earlier."

"Still, you should go talk to him. And turn in your report. You're getting as bad as Mustang about the paperwork!" Al said a little annoyed about the childishness of Ed's statement.

"FINE. I'll go turn it in, but don't whine to me when I end up walking away with another mission instead of vacation time." Ed replied grumpily before gathering up his things and leaving Al to put the books away when he was done with them.

Ed stormed home, then grabbed his report before deciding he really should feed and change the baby before he went to the office, after Yuery had been fed and changed; and Ed had eaten himself, he walked over to the office feeling rather tired and wondering if he should have taken a nap instead.

He arrived at the office with his usual gusto, storming through the hallways to reach Mustang's office with a scowl that dissuaded anyone from stopping him along the way. Once he arrived in the office, and was greeted, he made his way into Mustang's inner office and flopped down on the couch. "Hello Fullmetal, I wasn't expecting you in today, please do have a seat." Mustang said without looking up from his paperwork.

"Yeah, I finished my Loire report early so I brought it by." Ed said as he already felt his eyes growing heavy. He was used to sleeping on this couch and was fighting himself to stay awake at the moment. Mustang had collected the report from the coffee table and read through it quickly before signing the bottom and taking it over to the file cabinet.

"What is it you need? Can I get you some tea? Coffee? "

"A real lead would be nice. Something bio alchemy related at least. Oh, and Al wanted me to take a few days off to visit my mechanic. He thinks I might need an adjustment soon."

"Hmm. I have something that may be helpful. I just recently received a file on a state alchemist who specializes in Chimera research. Shou Tucker, the SewingLife Alchemist. He lives right here in East City and his annual assessment is coming up soon. Let me see." Mustang said as he moved over to his shelves to find the correct file... "As far as vacation time, you still have enough paid leave to visit the mechanic. In fact, if you bill the visit, I won't have to count it against your vacation time. Ah here it is. So, you let me know which way you want to do this in, vacation or Tucker?"

"Hmm, Tucker likely. I don't think it would take more than a week to go through his work, provided he lets me." Ed said in return before laying on the couch, Yuery now out of the sling but laying against E's chest, both asleep within minutes. Mustang set the file down on the coffee table that contained Tucker's address and basic information. If that was what Ed wanted, he would take them over to Tucker's place tomorrow.

Mustang residence

6:30 pm

Roy had just started his dinner when the phone rang once, was silent, then rang three more times. Roy sighed as he set down his fork and waited. If it rang again, it was personal, if it didn't it was business and he would have to go out to the telephone booth. It rang again, so he felt both annoyed and relieved. He stood and answered on the second ring. "Mustang."

"What's this I hear about becoming a grandmother?"

"Hello Madame."

"That's not an answer young man."

"I assumed that was a joke."

"Well it wasn't. What exactly is going on out there?"

"I am no one's father, I assure you Madame. I have been intermittently caring for an infant while his father works."

"I wasn't talking about the infant. Though I had intended to ask about that as well."

Roy sighed, he knew it was pointless to ask who her source was, she would never reveal it in the first place, and secondly there was only one person he could think of that would have said this. "Damn its Hughes."

"You leave that boy alone. Now tell me what is going on."

"You remember that I asked for certain documentation from your sources a few weeks ago I'm sure." Roy began tiredly. She hummed over the line to show she was still listening. "Fullmetal- Edward- has no experience with childcare, though he is determined to raise the child well. I have simply been lending my aide wherever possible to facilitate a smooth transition."

"In other words, you're a grandfather now and don't want to admit it. I get it, I certainly wasn't ready to be a grandmother but that's how it is."

"I assure you Madame, I have not adopted Edward or his brother or his son."

"Well, not legally at any rate." His mother said smugly, and he sighed again. He may have admitted to himself a time or two that he was starting to feel as though he was the Elric brothers' parent, but he wasn't about to admit that to anyone else including his foster mother. Though she may be the only one he knew personally that may be able to help him detangle the emotions of this situation.

"… Madame. When I was sent to you…" Roy began bracing himself for the emotional turmoil he knew was coming. After all his mother was not an openly affectionate woman. "When did you start to feel like a parent? What I mean to ask is how did it feel to realize you had become one?"

"Oh, Roy. You have really stepped in it this time, haven't you?" His mother said and he closed his eyes not expecting any further response. "When you fell out of that tree, and I thought you must have broken your neck. That's when I realized you had become mine, because the fear I felt, that wasn't abstract. At all."

"… It's been awhile now. I just didn't see it." Roy said quietly. "I realized it only recently, when I realized how personally invested, I feel toward those boys reaching their goals so I can get them out of all of this. Perhaps, if not for this baby, I may never have realized it myself. He affords us all much more time for late night contemplation"

"Infants tend to be good for that. So, what do you intend to do now? Are you going to legally adopt them?"

"I can't do that. Edward would be transferred out of my unit to avoid nepotism." Roy said, voicing the primary reason he hadn't allowed himself to even think as to why he hadn't adopted them years ago. Not that Edward would appreciate that he had ever even considered adopting him and his brother. Hell, likely if Ed even suspected Roy had considered the possibility of adopting him, he was likely to punch Roy right in the face. Then shove his watch right down Roy's throat. Then he'd demand a transfer which would be bad for them both. No, it was better to just keep all this to himself. Though he could still have some fun with it. "I will be sure to send you some photographs of the boys' tomorrow."

"You had better. If I am to be a grandmother, apparently a great-grandmother, I need photos. I will have you know RoyBoy I am far too young to be anyone's great-grandmother."

"He is too young to be anyone's father, and I'm far too young to be his father, so yes Madame, I am aware that this is inconvenient for you."

"Bah. I'm not worried about soiling my reputation. You need to worry about your own."

"Fullmetal is the most popular state alchemist in the country. Adopting him would only improve my image, not that I intend to adopt him or anyone else anytime soon." Roy said calmly, the idea of formally adopting the boys had never seemed reasonable even with Maes' teasing. Somehow his mother bringing it up made it seem a legitimate option, of course his mother was good at that. He pushed the idea aside, reminding himself of all the reasons it wouldn't work. Primarily, as he listed to his mother he could no longer be under Roy's command. Yet another reason it would be in their best interest to finish their quest and remove themselves from the military. They might be able to obtain a family, a broken strange family, but a family, nonetheless.

He was finally able to get off of the phone a few minutes later, after promising to speak on the matter to Edward. A promise he intended to put off as long as possible. The boy had enough distractions and hurdles in his life, learning his commander had ever considered making him a son…well it certainly wouldn't help the boys at this point… perhaps, if things changed, he could at least offer them a place to stay. Even that would be a great help to the overworked teen, to have another pair of hands willing to take a tired infant.

He shook his head at himself for being a sentimental fool. Truthfully, were it not for the vulnerability the baby had drug out of Edward, Roy would never have considered ANY of this. Aside from the practical issues having a subordinate as a roommate might cause, this was Fullmetal. They'd kill each other in a week. They'd at least destroy the house.


	4. Research and Unavoidable Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't know the whole story, I don't want to know it honestly, but Fullmetal has been an adult a long time now. Sometimes I wonder if that kid was ever a child." Havoc said with a sigh before catching himself

Research and Unavoidable Conversations

9:00 am

Tucker Residence

Mustang escorted the boys himself to Tucker's house to introduce Fullmetal and introduce himself formally as Tucker's new commander. He had never actually met Shou Tucker before, and had only rumor to go on, but the files said he was the leading expert on chimeras in East City and Mustang loathed to send the Elrics to Central in search of a different expert.

They were greeted at the door by Tucker's charming daughter, Nina. The girl was about five, with long auburn hair in neat braids and large green eyes. She was a friendly child, as was her extremely large white dog who knocked Edward off his feet upon seeing the boy. Luckily for everyone involved, Yuery had been safely in Al's arms at that moment. Ed had just passed the baby off to make a good first impression.

After the confusion with the large bear-like dog, Tucker had invited them all in for tea. Mustang explained Edward's desire to study Chimeras, though both were quick to assure Tucker that he had no interest to taking over someone else's field of study, rather he felt any documentation on the matter should be kept carefully hidden.

Ed briefly considered telling Tucker the truth of his quest, but he feared putting Yuery at risk from an unknown alchemist. Instead he explained how he had recently encountered the group. He had decided though, to describe the situation in Liore. It explained his interest in chimera after all, while leveling no risk toward his brother or son. Tucker agreed to open his personal library to their study, and Ed dived right in, His son in the sling again this time looking around with wonder as his father read with intensity. A few feet away Al had done the same. Roy watched them with amusement for a few minutes before he assured Tucker this was completely normal for them and took his leave.

1:00 pm

Tucker Library

The sound of laughter pulled Edward from the latest journal he was reading, as he searched the room for the source. Down the aisle he spotted Alphonse playing with the Tucker girl Nina. He smiled at them, before planting a stern look on his face and walking over to them. "That's not reading Al."

"I know Brother, but Nina was bored, and I didn't want her to disturb you or Yuery." Al said. Ed looked down at the sad expression on the girl's face, then the smiling gurgle of his son before he decided a study break wouldn't hurt anything.

They four of them retreated to the yard where Al played tag with Nina and Ed sat on a blanket with the baby and his own journal. He was copying down everything relevant that he had read so far before it slipped from his mind. His notes, hidden inside the words of his travel journal, were well hidden. No one, aside from Al, could hope to crack his code, and even Al would take a few days.

What disturbed Ed most was just that. He had been reading Tucker's research journals the last hour, and they did not appear to be hidden or coded in anyway. Of course, until he worked his way through all the journals, he had decided to withhold judgement on Tucker's careless behavior toward his work.

Meanwhile, Nina flopped down winded on the blanket next to him and Yuery. "Alphonse said this is your baby?"

"Yes, he is." Ed said with a smile. "This is Yuery Elric. He's going to be eight months old next week."

"Can I play with him?" Nina asked with wide eyes.

Ed weighed his options on the matter of how to include both the girl and the baby in a game. Which is how Havoc found them around three running around the yard, Nina in Al's arms and Yuery in Ed's laughing and screaming as they chased each other.

April 2nd, 1914

Elric Apartment

9:00am

Ed hated waiting for a ride; he would much prefer to just walk over to the Tuckers himself. It wasn't THAT far of a walk… but the clouds were dark and low, and the pressure in his stumps promised rain today. He couldn't risk the baby getting sick by taking him out in weather like that. Therefore, he had swallowed his pride and called for transport.

A knock at the door let him know his ride had arrived, so he yelled to give him a minute and double checked the diaper bag before yanking open the door with his right hand as he clutched his son in his left which he knew was a risky move since he had already repaired the knob about ten times since they moved in. Havoc and Mustang were waiting on the other side but didn't seem ready to go anywhere.

Havoc carried a large box that seemed to be a gift in it judging by the wrappings, and Mustang carried a box from the local bakery. "What's going on?" Ed asked cautiously as the two men stepped inside.

"We all know how you lose track of time when you're in the middle of a search so we assumed you would forget today Yu turned eight months and when you remembered you would feel bad so we brought the celebration to you." Havoc said with a smile pinched around his unlit cigarette.

"I keep telling you, this monthly birthday stuff is not a real thing." Ed said to cover up that he had in fact lost track of the day. Neither man believed him for an instant.

"I brought you pastries and coffee." Mustang said, holding up his box. Ed was suddenly torn, and very annoyed that Mustang knew that. Food finally won out as they all sat in the living room, Yuery redeposited on his play blanket. The child crawled over to Havoc first in an attempt to ask for food.

After breakfast, Havoc insisted Ed open Yuery's present. At least this time it was limited to the main office staff and combined. Honestly, at the rate things were going Ed was going to have to make the spare bedroom a toy closet. Inside the box, much to Ed's relief, was seven story books, and a small stuffed bear.

Now that the gift was opened and food eaten, Ed was anxious to finally get going to the Tuckers' house. He admitted begrudgingly to himself, that he looked forward to seeing the girl as much as he was the journals. The journals had offered nothing enlightening so far, and Ed highly suspected that Tucker was holding back some of the research. Not that Ed blamed him really, it wasn't like any alchemist shared their research freely.

Nina, on the other hand, was a charming child. She seemed lonely but enjoyed getting to play with Al and Yu. Ed felt a little guilty over the idea that it wouldn't take him more than another week or two to finish the journals and then they would have no reason to visit like they had been. Perhaps he could talk Mr. Tucker into allowing Al and Yu to still play with Nina afterward. Perhaps he could find a way to drag out the research.

Havoc dropped them off with the promise to return in the afternoon, and Ed lead the way into the study. Mr. Tucker almost never appeared to greet them anymore, though Nina would be in here soon. Ed made sure to speed through as many journals as possible before the young girl arrived to play. Al offered to take Yuery to hunt Nina down so that Ed could finish this section. The truth of the matter was that Al noticed his brother attempting to hide the pain his stumps were giving him and was trying to give him an excuse not to run around under the increasingly darkening sky.

The day passed quickly, with Ed absorbed completely. Occasionally he would hear the squeals and laughter of the three children playing nearby, and he finally gave in to the impulse to join them just after lunch, which was served by Tucker silently delivered to the study.

Havoc arrived just before three to collect the Elrics, just as the first few drops of rain began. He watched with a happy smile as the girl weaved flower crowns and placed the last one on Ed's head as he smiled down at her and his son slept in his lap. His brother sat next to him with the oversized family dog leaning against him. "Those boys really are still children in so many ways." Tucker said with a smile beside Havoc.

"Don't let the sweetness fool you." Havoc replied with a smirk. "Ed is great with little kids, and he loves playing with them, but he's no child."

"A shameful thing to admit, he's only 15 I believe, correct?" Tucker said as they were spotted, and Ed began gathering their things.

"I don't know the whole story, I don't want to know it honestly, but Fullmetal has been an adult a long time now. Sometimes I wonder if that kid was ever a child." Havoc said with a sigh before catching himself. Gossiping about someone who was technically his boss was not a good idea. Luckily, he was saved by the kids saying their goodbyes, and wandering out toward the car. Havoc followed with Tucker and Nina on his heals. Nina waived again, sad to see them go as usual.

Elric Apartment

5:00 pm

Al was watching the clock carefully. More so than he normally did unless they were expecting a ride somewhere, which made Ed very suspicious. Al had insisted on leaving the Tuckers early today, which was odd in itself, then he had wanted to come straight home.

Al had also been cleaning since they arrived at four, and the apartment had been clean to begin with. Ed was done trying to figure out what was going on, so he decided to confront his brother. "Okay, Al what is going on? Why are you acting like you're up to something? You better not have a cat in there."

"Umm. Okay, so don't be mad Brother. Your gait has been off for weeks now, and you refused to stay last time I stayed, and you can't avoid it forever."

Ed had a strong sinking feeling in his stomach as his brother spoke. "What. Did. You. Do?"

"Winry will be here in about fifteen minutes." Al said in a small but defiant voice. Ed paled as his mouth fell open, but no words formed. Winry was coming. She would be here soon. Ed still hadn't formed a plan on how to explain Yuery, but he was pretty sure walking into a toy strewn living room and spotting said child on the floor was not the best way.

Ed panicked. He refused to admit he panicked, but he did. He shoved all of Yuery's toys into the toy basket and shoved the basket behind the couch, then he picked the baby up and rushed into the bedroom to hide him in his crib. Before running back out front to be sure nothing else screamed 'A baby lives here'. Everything screamed a baby lives here from the playpen in the corner to the highchair at the table to the carriage in the entry. Winry was going to go nuts on him.

Ed needed a plan B and the only thing he could think of was to meet her before she came up and tell her the whole story. This was going to be painful, unless he could convince her to leave the wrenches behind and not cry. Which was near impossible. "Al who's driving her?"

"Ms. Hawkeye, I believe." Al said from his spot in the corner dusting the top shelf.

"Okay. I'm going down to meet them, I'm going to ask if Hawkeye would mind keeping you company while I take Winry to dinner. You're going to watch Yuery until we get back because you owe me."

"Okay Brother, so you're going to tell her?"

"Like I have a choice now." Ed grumbled as he grabbed his coat and shoved his feet back into his boots. "Don't forget to feed him dinner." Ed added as he stormed out of the apartment.

Ed managed to get downstairs just as Hawkeye was pulling into a parking spot near the door. He approached with his shoulders hunched and hands in his pockets, aside from the red coat he was nearly impossible to recognize with a grey tee shirt and tan slacks instead of his normal outfits. Hawkeye smiled as he arrived by the car and he offered a small smile in return. "Hawkeye, if you were free for a while, I was wondering if you would mind sitting with Al while I took Winry to dinner? I haven't really had a chance to talk to her about anything in about five months."

Hawkeye caught on instantly as she said. "Fortunately, I have no plans for the evening. I would be delighted to visit with your brother for a while."

"Thank you. If it's too much trouble you can always call Mustang to help out."

"Of course, perhaps I will, I know he was free this evening when I dropped him off on the way to retrieve Winry." Hawkeye said with a smile.

Winry was confused by the exchange. Ed pulled her away before she could ask anything or offer to help carry her luggage upstairs, however. Ed lead her away from the building toward the park as a short cut to the restaurants nearby. When they reached the park, Winry commented. "I see what Al meant. You need an adjustment Edward. Your leg has grown."

Ed sighs and sits on a nearby bench before gesturing for Winry to join him. She did so slightly hesitant. "Win. Al didn't call you up here to adjust my leg. At least that wasn't his whole reason. He's been telling the last five months I needed to tell you, and I agreed that I did I just…didn't know how."

"Whatever it is can't be that bad. C'mon Ed you know you can trust me."

"Of course, I trust you! I've always trusted you, It's just…complicated."

"Okay. Start at the beginning."

"Okay. First, I was sent on a mission out of country a few months ago. It's this place…it's strange there, and they are just terrible from the ones I had to deal with. So, I was there maybe three days, and I witnessed a double murder. The murderer killed himself as well."

"Oh Ed, that's terrible, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Mostly. I'm still kind of shaken by how it all went, but over all I'm great. Here's the complicated part. The murder victims they were a couple, a family, but the guy… well he planned to kill their baby too, only he didn't. The baby, he was all alone." Ed said, now looking at the ground, not wanting to see if Winry cried. "I… I kept him Winry. I brought him back with me and kept him. I named him Yuery after your dad and Mustang fixed all the paperwork so that it says I'm his dad and some made up girl no one knows is his mom who supposedly died. That's the story I have to tell everyone, but I couldn't lie to you, so I didn't talk to you at all and I'm sorry."

"Do you have a picture?" Winry asked with a sniff, and Ed pulled out his usual stack of pictures. She flipped through them carefully as she thought about the insane story Ed had just told her, and realized she believed him without question. He had no reason to lie to her about it, and probably would have lied to anybody but her from what he's said. "You idiot. You could have told me right away you know. Can I meet him? Tell me someone's been helping you."

"Umm. Yeah you can meet him after dinner because we really are gonna go eat. Mustang's been helping me most. He knows a lot about babies. I'm so glad you believe me. I don't know why, but Al doesn't, and it's caused a few fights."

"You boys always did fight over the dumbest things."

Elric Apartment

7:00pm

Unsurprisingly, Mustang was there when Ed and Winry returned, as was Hawkeye. Yuery was sitting happily in Mustang's lap and babbling to Hawkeye while she played with his toes. Al was hiding in the study. Ed thanked them for coming over to babysit then plucked up Yuery to introduce him to Winry. "Winry this is Yuery. He's eight months old, and the best baby I've ever met. Yu, this is Winry. She's my best friend, so you better love her cause she not going anywhere. Plus, she is just awesome…when she isn't being some weird gearhead."

"Oh, shut up Alchemy Freak and let me hold that baby." Winry said. Ed reluctantly handed over the baby, and Mustang rolled his eyes as they watched Ed begin to twitch as Winry held the baby. To his credit, Ed lasted longer than he normally did before declaring that she was holding the baby wrong and taking him back.

"Do try not to be offended Ms. Rockbelle. Edward is reluctant to allow anyone to hold the child. It was only after I insisted on several occasions that he grew accustomed to me holding the baby." Mustang said with a small smile. Winry nodded as Edward wandered out of the room seemingly forgetting his guests as he babbled on to the child about bedtime. Al appeared as the bedroom door clicked shut. "Well, if our services are no longer needed, perhaps we should head home for the evening. If you would be so good as to drive me back to my place Lt? I'm afraid I do not have my car."

The two officers left, and Al settled on the couch next to Winry, Cobalt jumping up next to him and settling in his lap. "Brother really does need maintenance but I'm sorry for tricking you into coming so that he would have to tell you. I think he's embarrassed about the situation and that's why he was putting off talking to you, so I decided not to give him a choice anymore."

"Well, it ended well enough. Yuery seems like a very good baby." Winry said, noting that Ed was right about Al not believing him. She would love to bring it up with Al, but she was worried it would spark a fight. "Unfortunately, I don't have much time, I have to be home Monday. A slight adjustment shouldn't take more than a day. At least he isn't hurt this time."

Elric Apartment

8:00 am

Ed patiently waited while Winry measured his leg, jotting down numbers on the notepad next to her, while Yuery played on the floor next to her and Al made them breakfast. "Well, I'm going to have to take off the leg. It will only be for a few hours and I'll have to take over the study to finish it. I didn't bring the spare Ed. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Ed said dully, before it sank in and he groaned. "How am I supposed to take care of Yuery from the couch?"

"I don't know, I'm going to be busy. Just put Al in charge."

"Al won't do it. He barely holds Yuery and never watches him, that's why I had Hawkeye babysit last night. Wait, let me call Mustang and see if he's willing to take Yuery for the weekend. I'll just explain the leg thing. Can you watch him for a minute?" Ed said as he jumped to his feet and walked over to the phone to call Mustang. A few minutes later Mustang arrived on their doorstep, ready to take the baby back to his place.

It didn't change that it was going to be a very long weekend for Ed. Even with getting it back in a few hours he would then have to recover from the reconnection pain which is why he asked for Roy to keep Yuery that long. He didn't want the baby to see him in pain. Winry was sympathetic but only slightly as she removed Ed's leg after he situated himself in the bedroom with a large pile of books and notebooks. That would be enough to distract him for a few hours while she worked. She said it would be simple since it was only an inch, she would be adding so it wasn't an extensive job, though it wouldn't be cheap either.


	5. An Alchemists Anguish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You can not allow yourself to be distracted by every tragedy that falls into your path. Your brother. Your son. They need you to push it aside and move forward.

An Alchemists Anguish

9:00 am

Mustang Residence

Roy, as usual, was pleased to take the baby for the weekend. It was even better that watching him had nothing to do with Ed being in any danger. Roy was relaxed, and in a pleasant mood, so he wasn't on guard when the phone rang, and he made the mistake of answering it. Maes was on the line and was in a very upbeat mood. The one that led to an hour-long story about a kid's tea party and repeated promises of photos.

Roy tried to get away using Yuery as an excuse, which would have worked better had the baby NOT squealed happily at that point but eventually, after enduring Maes' plans for the children to play together, Roy was allowed to hang up. Afterwards Roy decided it really was past time for the baby's nap and he set out to settle the baby in. Roy managed to get the baby settled easily enough and laid on the bed to read while Yuery napped, hating to leave the child alone when he promised Ed that he wouldn't. This, unfortunately for his research, led to him falling asleep as well.

Elric Apartment

11:00am

At Al's insistence Winry came out to eat brunch with the brothers. Ed was confined to the apartment, but thanks to him thinking ahead, he had made a crutch from the seldom used side table and was able to hobble to the bathroom and to the kitchen. Al insisted he limit movement as much as possible so he didn't fall down or anything. Ed grumbled but reluctantly agreed.

They had all sat down to eat, when Winry asked how they had been doing. Al answered first with a chipper assurance that everything was fine. Ed assured her all was well too. He then mentioned that they currently weren't traveling because he was busy with a research project. Al then launched into detailed stories about Nina and her dog Alexander.

After brunch, they all went their separate ways as Winry returned to her work on the leg and Ed went to his room to study and possibly nap. Al called over then left to visit with Nina for a while, promising to say hi for Ed and Yuery.

The day passed rather quickly for the two remaining teens as Ed spent most of it asleep and Winry building the extra inch Ed would need. Around four the leg was ready, and Ed was glad to find that Al was still out. The leg hurt him slightly less than the arm, but it still hurt. Al hated seeing Ed in pain.

Once his leg was reattached, and Ed tucked in for another nap, this one to sleep off the nerve pain, Winry cleaned up the mess she made in the study/guest room, and set about starting dinner. Ed's favorite meal was stew, and it was something that she was always willing to make for that reason. She thought about calling home while it simmered, but decided that Ed was right. Yuery was best explained in person.

Al arrived just after six and Ed limped out of his room at the same time before they all sat down to dinner. Al regaled them with today's adventures of Nina and Alexander, but mentioned that Mr. Tucker had not come out of his study all day.

"Well, he is almost to his evaluation. From what Mustang said, he barely scraped by last year so he has to be extra careful this year. Especially since he can't use combat as a back up plan."

"Brother, I'm pretty sure you are the only one who ever used combat as a back up plan." Al said with a sigh.

" Nah. It wouldn't have been allowed if no one ever did it. Plus I looked it up before I suggested it and it happens about a third of the time with field alchemists like me and half the time for combat alchemists like Mustang. I did him a favor with that anyway, they ended up calling it his annual evaluation as well."

"You have to be evaluated every year?" Winry asked in confusion. "What kind of stuff do you have to do?"

"There's a bunch of forms to fill out, then a report on whatever you've been researching that year, or a demonstration of your combat skills to prove they are not wasting their money on you." Ed said with the casual air of someone who was sure he would continue to pass. Even with the distraction of Yuery and his constant side project (searching for the stone) he had mostly finished his report of his annual research officially he was researching biological alchemy

Mustang Residence

10:00 pm

Roy wasn't expecting anyone, so he made sure to slip on one glove after placing Yuery in his playpen before answering the door. Edward was standing on the other side, completely unfazed by the raised glove. "Took you long enough. It's cold out here can I come in?" Edward said as he pushed passed and kicked off his boots.

"Was there something I can help you with Edward?" Mustang asked, trying not to sound as confused as he felt.

"Okay, don't make fun of me. I can't sleep without him." Edward said as he walked toward the living room where he correctly assumed the baby was located. "I'm not supposed to overdo it, so I can't take him home, though, so can I stay over again?"

"Of course." Roy agreed, not willing to send them out into the cold. "Did you bring a bag or-"

"Umm. No. I knida slipped out while Winry was in the shower so she couldn't stop me. I left a note! I just… I tried to go to sleep like she said, but kept jerking awake looking for him."

Roy restrained himself from giving another lecture on the matter of turning the baby into a security blanket. Sometimes he wondered if it would be easier on them all if he had offered to let the boys move in with him. It wasn't the time to bring it up however.

Instead he ushered the exhausted teen up the stairs, laid the baby down, and returned to the living room to call the apartment and assured the others Edward had arrived safe and in one piece. Winry was understandably annoyed but they both agreed sending Edward back home wasn't the best idea. Winry would be leaving in the morning, Al would come collect his brother and nephew after he dropped her off. Roy then settled in for the night himself.

Tucker Residence

1:00 pm

Edward was deeply absorbed in his research, as Alphonse entertained the children. Neither of them had seen or heard from Tucker in several days, after the second day of visiting. Nina assured them both that her dad was just very busy with his work but he always made sure to come out to feed her and put her to bed.

Edward had his doubts about this when he noticed how low their supplies were in the pantry, so he secretly filled the lower shelves with foods that Nina would be able to serve to herself. He then made sure to point them out to her and told her to be sure to eat whenever she was hungry. Edward wanted to talk to Mustang about the whole thing, but he wasn't sure if Roy could do anything about it.

Edward was pulled from his research by the sound of Yuery's crying, indicating the baby was hungry and possibly ready for a nap. With a sigh he stood back up from his nest of books to see to lunch for the two children. Tucker came out as Ed was finishing the soup, so he offered the older alchemist some of the soup.

Once they were all seated at the table, except for Al who begged off blaming he was working on something, Ed with Yuery in his lap and spooning food carefully into the baby's mouth, Tucker asked after Ed's progress.

Ed admitted his doubts that the research was going to benefit his own project, but it was giving him insight into future options. Tucker assured Ed to take as much time as he needed, which Ed was thankful for, not necessarily because he wanted to continue so much as he didn't want to go on another away mission yet if he could avoid it. Nothing new about the stone had come up recently, and he wanted to look into some other myths that Al had found in the library on Saturday. Nina was happy to learn the boys wouldn't be leaving just yet as well.

The other issue, which he would not be bringing up to Tucker at all, was that Mustang had asked Ed to go ahead and audit Tucker's work since he was already allowed access. This would make it easier to get accurate results since Tucker was unaware of an audit happening. It worked out well for both Mustang and Edward to do it this way because it also gave Edward a valid excuse to not go on a different mission.

April 22nd

Elric Residence

5:00 pm

Today was Al's fourteenth birthday, and despite his protests that he didn't need anything Edward had planned a party for after the others were able to get away from work. Ed even picked up a cake earlier in the day and had it hidden in Mustang's office. He had also made sure to get a bunch of presents that would distract from Al not getting any of the cake.

Edward had been back to splitting his time between Tucker's and the office, filing the daily findings of the audit. Yuery was spending most of his evenings with Mustang to give Ed more time for the library, which made Ed feel guilty, but he needed to crack this. Today was not a day to dwell on it however because he was going to give his brother the best birthday possible.

Everyone followed him home from the office, and Al was already there reading. Al was surprised to see everyone come in but pleased that they remembered his birthday. Everyone had brought him presents. The party lasted for longer than Ed's had. Ed didn't like parties though and Al did.

Mustang asked as he was leaving if they needed him to take the baby for the evening, but Ed decided they were going to have the evening just the boys with no work. They hadn't done that in a while. Mustang agreed it was a good idea.

11:00 am

Tucker Residence

Edward hadn't moved since the team had arrived. Alphonse had called them, begging them to come just after nine, and the whole team had rushed over, to be greeted with a horror almost beyond comprehension. Little Nina Tucker had been permanently melded to her dog. Edward, upon discovering the child had snapped and nearly killed Tucker.

From what Mustang gathered, a combination of Alphonse and Nina had stopped him, but just barely. Now he sat on the steps, under a heavy sky, his son clutched to his chest rocking gently back and forth like he wasn't really here. Mustang's heart broke for the boy, but there were eyes everywhere and neither of them could afford to show this kind of weakness.

Mustang stopped on the stairs next to them, debating what words to use. Normally, his first inclination was to admonish the boy for breaking down publicly… he couldn't bring himself to however in light of the whole situation. He couldn't show the kindness begging to leak through, however. "Fullmetal." He began, and thankfully the boy stiffened in a way he knew he was getting through to Ed. "You can not allow yourself to be distracted by every tragedy that falls into your path. Your brother. Your son. They need you to push it aside and move forward. Come, we'll give you a ride home."

Edward glared daggers at him, but followed, Al silently trailing behind them. As soon as they entered the car, and Hawkeye pulled away, Mustang turned to Ed and allowed the compassion seep into his expression. "I am truly sorry Edward. Had I known what Tucker was capable of, I never would have exposed you to him… I would have found a way to spare that child her fate."

Finally, Edward cried. He cried for the little girl who had suffered so much. He cried for the horror of exposing his son to such a monster. He cried for the new layer of pain he had allowed to form on his brother's heart. He cried for himself, and for the world that seemed to want to ensure he never had a moment's peace. As he cried he clutched his son to his chest, grateful the boy was too small to understand why everyone was so sad.

After a moment, Mustang hesitantly reached out for the sobbing teen and pulled him into a hug. Roy hadn't comforted anyone in years. Not since Riza just after the war. He was rusty, and he wasn't sure if a hug would actually help anything, but his own heart was breaking over seeing the boy he had come to think of as his child so utterly shattered.

He couldn't leave them alone in this state, and he had to return to the office at least long enough to get the ball rolling on Tucker's transfer to Central. As of now Tucker was under house arrest, with men posted at every door and hands shackled to prevent any use of alchemy. Mustang would call Hughes as soon as they arrived in the office to have him picked up. As for Nina, likely they would ship the poor child off to one of the labs to see if there was anything to be done for her. It was a long shot that they would even try to reverse what had been done. Mustang personally felt it would be a kinder fate to kill her, but he wouldn't dare even think that around the Elrics.

Edward was still sobbing silently when they pulled into headquarters, and Riza shared a look with Roy in the rearview mirror, she gave a brief nod, much to his relief. The fact that she could nearly read his mind at times is why he had relied so heavily on her over the years. "Edward. Ed. I need to make a couple of calls, then we can go to my place for a while. Just stay here, alright?" Ed nodded silently, and Mustang climbed out of the car before forcing his expression back into a cold mask.

It took him less than ten minutes to make the calls he had to make himself before leaving the rest of the details to his staff. Silently, he made his way back to the car where two heart broken boys waited. He wished he could figure out what he was supposed to say or do to make this easier on them, but the truth was there was nothing. This horror had befallen them, and they would crack more for it.

Already, these children had suffered more than their fair share of nightmares, and this could only serve to add to it all. Ed was strong though. He would keep going forward, if not for himself, then for his brother and son. Mustang drove them back to his house silently, before leading them inside, and sitting in the exact center of the couch so both boys could sit with him at the same time. He hugged them both, and whispered apologizes for what had happened, and held them until they had grown calm again.

Eventually, Roy extracted Yuery from Edward's arms and sent the grieving boy up to the guest room to rest. Al silently followed in his brother's wake, while Mustang did his best to calm a baby who had been disturbed by their reactions. Once he had the baby to sleep, he began cooking because even if Ed didn't feel like eating when he woke up he was going to need to.

Roy was interrupted by the phone a few times as his team kept him updated on the situation with Tucker, and Hughes confirmed his arrival time and checked in on how the Elrics were doing. All in all, it wasn't surprising at all when the sky finally let loose, rendering Mustang as physically useless as he felt emotionally. He had made himself a promise to stop these horrors and all others their government bestowed upon people, yet somehow, he had missed that this man, only recently brought to his attention, was a monster. Who else but a monster would use their own child in such an experiment?!

Mustang Residence

10:00pm

In the end, Ed's lethargic dejected mood decided without words that the boys would be staying with him. Al wasn't doing any better than his brother and Yu could feel the tension in his father making him fussy. After a few hours, Mustang ordered Ed to bed, keeping the himself for the night. Ed still hadn't spoke, but shot Mustang a look close to gratitude before slipping like a ghost silently into the guest room.

Al slipped into the study shortly thereafter, and Roy decided to leave them to their grief for the night as he went through the now familiar motions of preparing himself and the baby for bed. Tomorrow, Hughes would arrive to collect the Tuckers. Tomorrow he would worry about the backlash he would likely catch for this mess. For tonight, his only concern were the children in his care.

He settled Yuery into his crib, before checking on Ed once more, listening at the door to ensure Ed was actually asleep. He then double checked on Al, who was lost in stacks of Roy's personal library. Nothing of value to their search would be found in there, but if Al could find comfort in reading Elemental Theory Roy wasn't going to interrupt.

He assured Al that should he need Roy in the night to come get him, even if it was just to talk. Al nodded in understanding, though they both knew that the boy would only disturb him if there was something wrong with Ed or someone from the office called. With a heavy sigh, Roy went to bed himself, certain that the nightmares would be bad, but at least the worst of Tucker's doing was over.


	6. In This Time of Suffering

In This Time of Suffering

3:00 am

Mustang residence

The phone call ripped Roy from sleep on the first ring and he managed to catch it before it woke the baby. A few minutes later, he rushed downstairs half dressed in search of Al to ask him to take over with Yuery. Al was nowhere to be found, but a note stated the boy had returned to his apartment to feed the cat and pick up some things for Ed and Yuery. Ed himself was deep asleep, and Mustang loathed to wake the boy after everything, especially in light of the call he had just received.

After a momentary debate, he scribbled a quick note stating that he had taken Yuery to work with him, and that they were free to stay here until Roy returned or to come into the office later if they were feeling up to it. He posted the note on the fridge, along with the one Al left in case Ed awoke to an empty house. He then went back up to change and bundle the baby before stepping out his door just as Havoc pulled up. It was going to be an exceedingly long day.

Mustang's Office

9:00 am

Edward arrived, looking exhausted and depressed just as Hawkeye was leaving the office. She explained quickly that they had received word early in the morning that Tucker and his daughter had been murdered sometime between midnight and two am when the next shift had arrived to find the bodies. Ed had tried to come with her, but she insisted that he didn't need to see the scene.

Yuery was in the office with Fuery and Breda. Ed sat with them for a while but Yuery seemed to feel his father's mood and it was making him fussy, so eventually Ed gathered the baby to take him home where he wouldn't be interrupting the work that needed to be done. When he informed the others that he planned to go home despite the rain Breda insisted on having a car from the motor pool take him. Ed considered protesting, but remembered the last time they had been caught out in the rain Yuery had developed a fever.

After a few minutes he was underway. It wasn't until the pulled up in front of the house that Ed realized he had instructed the driver to take them to Mustang's house. When had Mustang's house become home? Ed didn't want to dwell on it anymore than anything else that had happened so he thanked the already nameless private and took the baby inside.

Al was already there, apparently he must feel the same way about it because he had brought the cat and a full suitcase for Ed and the baby. Ed attempted a smile which turned into a sob, as he was forced to explain to Al the latest development in the case.

East Headquarters

11:00 am

Mustang's Office

Hughes arrived without his usual flair and fan fair, instead he was somber in a way very few had experience with as he made his way into Mustang's inner office. He found Mustang sitting behind his desk looking exhausted. Hughes slouched down into the seat across from him after a brief salute and said. "I was told I was picking up a prisoner, not a corpse. How did that happen overnight?"

Wordlessly Mustang handed him the file he had been staring at before turning to stare out of the window at the darkening sky. Ideally, he hoped the boys made it back to his place before the rain started. "I recognize this." Hughes said, any humor that had been on his edges erased. "I thought he was still in Central. The State Alchemist killer. He has killed at least eight state alchemists that we know of, he got Brigadier General Gran the other day. I need you to promise to stay off the streets if this guy has decided to move East Roy. I'm serious."

"He killed Gran?! Of course, I don't have a death wish Hughes. You said he's targeting alchemists?" Roy agreed before he called the Elrics' apartment to instruct Edward to do the same. There was no answer, which caused a panic to rise in Roy's throat before he calmed himself enough to try his own number. Al answered on the second ring.

Mustang was so relieved to hear that the boys had stayed at his place that he forgot to warn them to stay inside. A few minutes later he realized his mistake and decided that he was done for the day. Hawkeye said nothing as she watched him gather his things and leave with Hughes in tow.

Once they were out in the hall however, he informed Maes that his armed guard would keep him safe and that he needed to talk to the boys alone before bringing anyone else into the house. Maes agreed but insisted on riding along in case they ran into the killer.

Mustang Residence

Roy rushed into the house with visions of finding his children dead, so he was greatly relieved to find the three of them sitting in the living room unharmed. He barely mentally startled at him calling the children his in his head, it had become a common occurrence over the last few months. He had far more important things to concern himself with at the moment anyway.

Ed looked up as he came in with dulled red rimmed eyes, and that expression nearly tore Roy's heart in two. He sat between the boys on the couch and cleared his throat. "Hughes has a rough idea of who has done this. There have been several killings out in Central. All State Alchemists and people who were in the way of the alchemists. I have agreed to an armed guard for now, and I would like you to agree as well Edward."

"This killer has targeted others to get to us?" Ed asked and Roy nodded. Ed turned his eyes toward the baby crawling around the living room chasing the cat. "I will take the guards… Mustang… Roy… can we stay with you for now? Please? Just until-"

"Stay as long as you need to Edward. Stay forever if that's what you need. To be honest it would probably be easier on all of us if you boys lived here. It would certainly cut down the disruption to Yuery's routine when you must go on missions." Roy said. He had been considering this offer before all this had happened and had intended to do so after Ed was done with the Tucker audit and moved back to field work.

Edward nodded, thankfully, but didn't answer right away when it came to moving in permanently. Roy let the matter drop for the night, it was a lot to ask to make the boy make any more decisions right now. Roy called the office, to let Hawkeye know that in light of the issue with the killer he would be taking the rest of the week off to ensure the safety of the boys as well as minimizing the number of times any of the three of them could be spotted until a guard rotation could be arranged.

Mustang-Elric Residence

11 am

After a few days, Ed had agreed to move into Mustang's house, and Al had offered to go pack up their apartment so that Ed could focus on Yuery. Roy had been home to help the whole week, though Hawkeye had brought a stack of files that could not wait until he returned. She had also taken the opportunity to check on the boys.

Roy was right to be worried she realized when she looked in on Edward and Yuery. Ed looked like he hadn't slept with deep bruises of exhaustion under his eyes. His hair was down and a tangled mess of dirty knots. He was wearing a grey tee shirt and sweatpants that he normally slept in when he stayed over at Roy's. He looked like he may have lost weight as well, though she wasn't sure if that was possible so quickly.

Yuery was in much better condition both fed and clean, though he seemed agitated as well and was sticking closer to his father than normal, leaning on the teen's leg even as he played with blocks. Ed had one hand on the child's left leg as he read a book in his lap and took notes. "How long has he been like this?" Riza asked as Roy came up behind her to look into the living room as well.

"All week, he keeps getting more tired but otherwise, this is exactly how he's been all week." Roy said quietly.

"He can hear you, just so you know." Edward said quietly with none of his usual ire.

"You need a nap Edward." Riza said firmly.

"Can't. Yuery's wide awake." Ed said with a yawn and patted his son.

"Roy and I can watch him. Go. Sleep."

"Roy already took him all night, that's not fair." Ed murmured.

"Then I will watch him and you can both go nap." Riza said firmly.

"…Do you know how to change him?" Ed asked even as Riza scooped up the baby and Roy stole his research to set it aside.

"I am sure I can manage Edward, I have changed and dressed him before. Should I find I need help I will ask the Colonel." Riza said then shooed him from the room.

Ed grumbled all the way up the stairs, and started to turn back halfway there but Roy was right behind him and wouldn't let him pass. Roy then grabbed his elbow and lead him to the guest room that he had told Ed was now the boys' room, before wordlessly pointing to the bed. Ed crossed his arms across his chest with a frown, before Roy sighed and said. "Come now Fullmetal, do I need to tuck you in or are you going to behave?"

"I am not a toddler." Ed growled, and Roy smirked relieved to get some fight out of the boy before he gestured at the bed again. Ed sighed before laying down. Roy watched him for a minute to be sure the boy wasn't going to just get right back up before firmly shutting the door and heading to his own room. Riza said to and he wasn't going to fight her on it after the week he's had either.

Alphonse and Havoc would be along in the next hour or so with the Elrics' things, Ed had decided they should sell the furniture to the complex but all of their books and personal items and kitchen supplies would be coming to his house, as well as all of Yuery's things including his furniture. Roy hoped that they would be quiet enough to let Edward sleep.

Riza, meanwhile, had settled the baby back down with his blocks and sat on the floor beside him. He happily held out a block to her, before turning his attention to the tower he was building. She smiled down at the tiny boy who seemed unaffected overall by the events of the last week. He was just nine months old and it was doubtful he understood more than his father was upset about something.

Noticing she was distracted, Yuery pulled himself into a shaky stand by holding her shoulder and leaned into her face before announcing loudly "Baa!" and patting her cheek.

"Do you need something Yuery, a bottle perhaps?" Riza asked with a smile as the baby repeats himself then chews on his fist. Riza assumed that to be a yes and scooped the baby up to go find him a bottle in the kitchen. Before she could return to the living room she heard the front door open and Alphonse clank inside. She made sure to rush to the doorway to shh the new arrivals and mention that Ed and Roy were both taking a nap. Yuery was patting the bottle as she talked so Riza took him back to the living room as Havoc and Al quietly carried in the boxes and crates, as well as Yuery's furniture. His crib would have to wait until Ed woke up, but the rest could be put away. As could the kitchen and book boxes.

4:30pm

Edward came rushing down the stairs in a panic after he had glanced at his alarm clock after waking. He visibly deflated with relief upon seeing Roy and Riza sitting on the floor with the baby before picking up his son and thanking them for watching him. Both adults waived off his thanks, insisting the baby had been well behaved.

Shortly after that Riza offered to go pick up their dinner so neither of them would have to cook. Roy agreed but insisted on giving her some money to cover the cost. Ed looked a bit better after his nap, but after Riza left Roy suggested that he go take a shower and change to make himself feel better. Ed frowned but wordlessly left the room.

He was back before Riza, though barely, and Al had taken the crib upstairs and put it back together leaving the living room back to it's original condition. Ed had changed into black jeans and a sleeveless top and managed to get the knots back out of his hair before throwing in a ponytail. He arrived looking a little more awake and put together but no happier.

Roy freely admitted to himself and less so free to Riza that he was worried about Ed. Ed had passed the psych evals every year, but Roy recognized a guilt complex when he saw one carrying one himself since the war. Ed always carried for every situation he wasn't able to resolve. Roy was worried. Six months ago he carried the deaths of the parents Ed tried and failed to save. Ed already carried his guilt for being unable to save or resurrect his mother. His brother's body. His father's absence. Who knew what else the boy carried that Roy hadn't accounted for. He didn't need this child added to the list.

He knew Ed was dreaming about it, he'd heard the nightmares. Roy wished desperately that he could carry this for Ed. Since he couldn't carry Ed's pain, then he would do everything he could to reduce it. Even if all he could do was share some of the burden of the daily responsibilities shoved at a child forced to grow up to fast.

Riza saw the heaviness of the members of the Mustang household as she unpacked the food she had brought from the local Xingise restaurant but didn't acknowledge it. She knew it would only make things worse for them both at this point when the wounds were still raw. She would watch them carefully and if time did not improve the situation then she would step in. With this in mind, she addressed Roy as they sat down to eat. "Sir, I meant to inform you earlier. We received a message this morning that advised both of you to continue to work from home for the time being. It is assumed that the alchemist killer is still in the area, and they would prefer if we were to keep both the property damage and escort lists to the minimum."

"Cheap Bastards want us to stay inside to save them money then?" Ed said with a snort that sounded almost normal.

"Essentially" Roy nodded grimly before agreeing to stay home a bit longer. He could use this time to do some research of his own, as well as being able to keep an eye on Ed's state of mind while not admitting that was what he was doing.

After dinner Riza took her leave, promising to come by the next day to exchange paperwork. Al had finished unpacking for them while they ate and had returned to the study to read. The cat was with him, had been following him since he had gotten home. Roy was worried about him as well, if for no other reason than he was clearly very attached to the child.

Alphonse was in better shape than Edward as far as Roy could tell on the guilt front. The boy was so quiet though that it was hard to tell. Roy would have the time to get to know them both a lot better and fully intended to utilize it. These boys had been left to themselves far too long and he felt he had been just as guilty of it as everyone else. He'd done his best to keep an eye on them, but his best hadn't been good enough. Otherwise they wouldn't be sitting here in his house feeling guilty over the death of their friend.

Yuery was not happy with Ed, thanks to the bath Ed had forced him into and was now clinging to Roy while muttering and glaring at his father. Roy couldn't help but laugh at the child's expression before saying to Ed. "He looks just like you when he glares like that."

"Nice he gets something from me. I swear he has Winry's aim." Ed said with a frown as the baby still refused to go back to him.

"He gets a lot from you actually. He often mimics you, he loves you a lot Edward. You've earned it. I am very proud of the wonderful father you have become." Roy said as Edward blushed.

"I'm just guessing my way through it Roy. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time."

Roy smiled at the boy before dropping the angry baby back into his arms. "I'm going to take a shower before Yuery's ready for bed, go ahead and make up with him. There's a few cookies in the pantry if you want to bribe him. I won't judge."

"I do NOT bribe him with cookies!" Ed said before muttering. "I use pudding usually"

"There isn't any pudding at the moment but there is some ice cream in the freezer." Roy said before adding as he started up the stairs. "He does like the cookies though, I've snuck him some before."

"You are a terrible influence! Terrible! What kind are they?"

"Look for yourself…and feel free to have a few."

"I'm not a baby, I'm not that easily distracted you know." Ed muttered to the baby as he located the cookies and offered one to his son. "Oh, oatmeal. These are great." Ed added before taking a couple cookies for himself. Once he sat down with the now happy baby and began playing with him with his blocks, Ed realized Roy had just bribed him into a good mood, just as Ed had done with Yuery. Darn it. Yuery may remind people of Ed, but it was starting to look like Ed reminded people of Roy and Ed wasn't sure how he felt about that.


	7. Rain of Sorrows

Rain of Sorrows

Mustang Office

3:00pm

Yuery had turned ten months old the day before, but aside from Roy making a special dessert they had allowed it to pass uncelebrated for which Edward was both grateful and guilty. He wasn't up to celebrating anything, however, despite his continued insistence that monthly birthdays were not a real thing he had allowed it to continue because he didn't want to mess up the baby's sense of normal. Yuery didn't seem to notice of course.

Today, so that Ed could work on his research, Roy had insisted of taking Yuery into the office with him. It would be safe enough since they had armed guards and Maes had returned this morning with another old face, Major Alex Louis Armstrong. Roy didn't interact with Armstrong but he knew of the man both from the war and from Hughes' various conversations over the years.

As far as the search for the killer went, the most recent reports suggested the man seemed to have moved South by the eye witness sightings, though there was as of yet no murders. It had been enough to allow Mustang back into the office, but the escort would remain for the foreseeable future. Edward had been left with two escorts in case he needed to go out at some point during the day.

A harried looking Hushes rushed into the room and spotted Mustang just as Roy was considering the chances of getting to go home early in light of the rain threatening to fall any time now. Hughes rushed up to the desk before stating. "The reports were wrong, Scar is still in town. He just killed Private Beck near the fountain, we need to get you home."

"Private Beck was guarding Fullmetal. Fuery, watch the baby, everyone else with me." Mustang said as he stood and already started out the door.

Alleyway

They were being chased through the streets, and Ed rushed down an alley as the killer began to catch up. Al was damaged and then Ed lost his arm, the killer looming over him. The killer, a large man with dark skin and white hair was talking about the evils of alchemy. Ed looked over at his brother, who could not move on his own and he himself felt the shock waves coming off of the destroyed automail. He could move if he had to, but the wires were hanging loose and to much movement could possibly cause damage to his nerves. Not that it would matter if he didn't survive this. The killer offered him a moment to pray, and Ed scoffed. Then asked. "Tell me this, are you intending to kill my brother, or am I your only victim?"

"You will be the only one receiving judgement as long as your brother does not interfere." The killer said as he reached for Ed once more. Ed scooted away from him.

"Well, I'm afraid I have to decline death today. I have too many people counting on me to just let go." Ed said as he thought of Yuery becoming an orphan for the second time in less than a year and his brother permanently trapped in his armor. Apparently, he hadn't spoken loudly enough for his brother to hear him as Al was screaming at him, and the man was still reaching toward him, now out in the street. Suddenly, a shot sounded and there was a flurry of activity as Ed collapsed, trying to find the strength to move as a shock wave of pain came from the port.

Havoc came over and helped Ed sit up, wrapping a coat over his shoulders before Ed's eyes caught the damage to his brother and found the strength to rush to him, only to have Al punch him in the face. The brothers then argued over Ed not running before Mustang bundled them into a car and got them back to the office.

4:00pm

Mustang's Office

After Ed finished explaining the brief conversation he had had with the killer and ignored his brother's scoff of disbelief. Ed ignored this, frowning as he considered the best course of action. "We had been on our way here when we were attacked. Private Beck was walking with us, and Sergeant Thomas warned us that Scar had been spotted, but then Scar attacked before either of us could react. He's Ishbalan if you missed it somehow."

"I do not want you walking the streets allowing him another shot at you." Mustang said to Ed who nodded tired looking.

"I'm going to have to go see Winry anyway. This isn't going to be a fun conversation. Al, you aren't going to like this, but I want you to stay with the Colonel. I think it would be best in your condition and I will come repair you as soon as I'm recovered." Ed said quietly.

Al sighed. "Well that will be fine Brother, just as long as you don't just sit there and let anyone kill you!"

"I TOLD you, I was fighting him off still, I have jagged scraps inside my port. It a nerve rubs wrong if I move wrong, so I couldn't run because I was in the grip of a muscle spasm that felt like a donkey kicked my shoulder and my knees had given out on me. I am not about to just give up and leave Yuery and You all alone." Ed defended as Al scoffed.

"You can't go by yourselves, not in your current condition. Before you argue Ed, think about it. Should this 'Scar' attack you in your current condition you have no way to defend Al or Yu."Ed growled before nodding in agreement. If it had just been him, he may have fought it more, he hated that they were treating him like a child, but Mustang knew just what string to pull to get him to stop fighting. He would not endanger his son. Mustang carried on as if Ed wasn't trying to murder him with the force of his glare. "I'm afraid I have far too much paperwork to join you. Hawkeye-"

"Hawkeye will remain in the office to ensure your safety. Sir." Hawkeye responded.

"I would love to join you, but I have my own issues to clear up." Havoc added. Breda, Falman, and Fuery all quickly agreed. Traitor, now Ed assumed he would be stuck with Hughes.

"I'm afraid I must be getting back to Central to get the latest to the Brass. I can however, offer the services of Major Armstrong." Hughes said.

The giant practically sparkled when Hughes mentioned him as he rose to tower over everyone in the room and give a speech about the honor of escorting the Elrics as if they were royalty or something. Hughes then brought up the question of the boys safety until morning when the next train left. Mustang assured him the boys would be coming home with Mustang so it wasn't an issue.

They quickly made their way back out of the building, Al carried in a crate, was completely still and silent to avoid notice. Luckily, Ed was the one that anyone was paying attention to when his port sent another wave of pain through his system just in time for him to miss the last step and fall flat on his face.

Mustang and Hawkeye both rushed forward to help him up, and he was briefly grateful that he had relented on letting Mustang carry Yuery as they hauled him into a sitting position and asked if he was alright. He groaned for a moment then said through gritted teeth. "I'll walk you through it but I'm going to need you to unhook what's left of the arm when we get home. If it keeps sparking like that it could fry the port."

"It could fry your nervous system." Mustang said grimly as he handed the baby off to Hawkeye then lifted Ed in his arms. "No complaints Fullmetal. We need you out of here now, so we can get this taken care of."

"I'm not a baby you know. I am capable of walking." Ed grumbled but threw his arm around Roy's shoulders to help hold on. Roy rolled his eyes as the rushed the rest of the way out of the building. "It's my arm that's screwed, not my leg."

"Every time you move you risk the wires rubbing together again. Let me help you."

"I already am, that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

Mustang-Elric Residence

Roy, Ed, Al, Yuery, Riza, Maes, and Jean Havoc arrived at the house a few minutes later, the rest of the team was to escort Armstrong to his and Maes hotel. Roy had insisted on carrying Ed into the house like he had out of HQ and Ed was not happy about it. Since when did Mustang know anything about automail? Ed wasn't about to ask, but he refused to be pleasant because he was not a child! As soon as Roy had him situated on the couch, Roy rushed off to get the tools needed to remove the last bit of arm attached to the port.

Riza meanwhile took Yuery off to the kitchen to find the baby a snack and distract him from his father's pain. Havoc and Maes carried in Al's crate together, placing it gently on the floor in the living room, before going to watch for trouble at the front of the house. Roy returned as they left, and the boys walked him through detaching the arm.

Riza reentered the living room as Roy stored away the tools with Yuery in her arms and relinquished the baby to his father when Ed wordlessly reached for him. Ed clung to the child as Roy and Riza asked Al if he was alright where he was or did he want to be moved elsewhere. He assured them he was fine, as long as somebody would bring him some books to read.

"I wasn't giving up." Ed said again as he gently rocked his son back and forth, no one sure who he was talking to at first. "I can't give up. I would never do that to you. Any of you."

"I believe you Ed." Roy said quietly, "It's going to be okay, we will work it all out."

Ed nodded silently but cast a sad look in his brother's direction.

East City Train Station

8:00 am

Hughes and Havoc had escorted Armstrong to the train station where he met with Mustang, Breda, Falman, Hawkeye, and the Elrics. Normally the entire office would not have joined them on the platform, but between Mustang insisting on showing the boys off and everyone's concern about the killer showing up it was necessary.

A few busy minutes of confusion followed before Armstrong, Edward, and Yuery were safely aboard. It wasn't until they had pulled away and Ed pulled Yuery out of the baby sling under his coat that Major Armstrong realized the baby was coming along. "Why have you brought the child young Edward? Did the Colonel feel it would be safer outside of the city for him at the moment?"

"I didn't ask his opinion actually, though he assumed I was taking him with me anyway." Ed said as he tried to adjust the child with only one arm. Unfortunately, it was much harder to keep the baby still on the moving train with just one arm. "Mustang said last night he was coming anyway weren't you paying attention?"

"I am afraid I must have missed him mentioning sending his son with you." Major Armstrong replied before noticing Ed's angry expression.

"This is MY son. Yuery Elric, thank you very much. Mustang has no say in what I do with him and neither do you! I let Mustang watch him for me because he's a decent babysitter who seems to really care about what happens to Yu, but at the end of the day, it's my job to keep him safe, no one else's."

Ed's anger dissolved into discomfort as Major Armstrong dissolved into tears over his assumed hardships being such a young father with so many other obligations already listing both his commission and his brother. Eventually the elder man calmed down and went in search of a glass of water.

Ed admitted defeat and put Yuery back in the baby sling when he realized he was having trouble holding the sleeping child comfortably and that he wanted to eat some of the snacks he had brought along. Major Armstrong rejoined them as Ed brushed the crumbs off his lap and started reading his journal. Yuery was still sleeping against his chest.

11:00 am

One stop before Risembool

Armstrong rushed them off the train when he spotted someone he was sure he knew, much to Ed's annoyance. They then began the search for the man Armstrong had called Marcoh. Eventually they had been directed to Dr Mauro who was popular around the village.

The meeting itself could have started better, Ed was livid at this man pointing a gun at his son and Armstrong was very little help as Ed talked him down so Ed was now angry at both men as they sat down to talk. Mauro explained that he had run away during the war and that he 'knew' the military would come for him sooner or later.

He then admitted to having the stone. Ed was desperate to see it, and to try to get Marcoh's research, but the man refused. Ed then explained in his usual angry fashion that he had already seen horrors beyond imagination and that he would do anything to protect his family. During his impassioned speech (read: yelling) Yuery awoke and distracted his father.

Ed immediately sidelined his argument to ask for use of Marcoh's kitchen to prepare Yuery's bottle. Normally he used the arrays he created to keep the bottles the right temperature but he was forced to use traditional methods until his arm was fixed. Ed rejoined them to remove Yuery from the sling and hold him to his chest as he allowed the baby to grab the bottle and hold it himself.

The other men watched the baby carefully, Armstrong getting his first really good look at the child. Armstrong was a bit embarrassed that he had assumed the child was Mustang's because aside from the black hair there was nothing that linked his appearance to Mustang. Indeed, the child was small for his age like his father and like his father he had a heart shaped face, and eyes full of intelligence. Marcoh ventured to ask after the child's mother but was quickly informed of the girl's death before Ed sighed heavily and said. "Look, I know it is unusual for someone my age to be a parent. I am not a fool even if I have made a few impulsive choices that led me to this moment. I love my son, and for the most part I take care of him myself. Yuery's perfectly healthy, I know enough of what I'm doing to keep him alive and happy."

Shortly after Ed's speech they bundled the baby back to Ed's chest and then quietly tried one last time to convince Marcoh to bend on the matter of his notes at least. Armstrong then hustled them out of the house like he hadn't been lingering himself and they rushed toward the train station. Luckily it was shearing season so there were extra trains coming through. Just as the train started to pull away Marcoh rushed up to them and gave Ed a note with a cryptic message.

Ed read the note as the train pulled out of the station before turning to Major Armstrong to say. "Well, it looks like I'll be needing to visit Central soon."

They settle into an easy silence as the miles slip away under the train, another hour and they will finally be at Risembool.

Colonel Mustang's Office

12:00

Mustang was bored, he admitted it to himself. With Scar on the loose he and Hawkeye decided (i.e. Hawkeye declared) it was far too much of a risk for him to leave the office for lunch, therefore he had been stuck in his office all day. He didn't have anything to distract him from his paperwork.

He had already cleaned his office, checked for wiretaps, reorganized his books, signed three files, refiled seven files, hidden ten files, swept the floor and attempted to sneak out for coffee (twice). Now he was digging through his drawers in the vain hope of finding jerky or something to tempt the dog to come play with him so that he could have some fun today.

Unfortunately, despite his attempts to appear uncaring, Mustang's office is spotless and that included his drawers. He wasn't going to have a choice, and he'll end up stuck with paperwork… unless he took a nap. Getting away with taking a nap sounded just as great as napping itself though, so he ends up laying on the couch with no intention of trying to lie about his intentions.

He failed to notice when Hawkeye silently entered the room and placed another stack of files on his desk. He failed to notice when she returned with a light blanket and covered him up with it, wishing she could also bring him a pillow. He failed to notice when the rest of the staff returned with lunch for himself and Hawkeye. It wasn't until Hawkeye decided he had slept long enough, and shut the door loudly before clearing her throat that he shot upright and looked around with alarm.

"Sir, you set a bad example to the subordinates when you choose such a blatant napping spot." She said as he blinked up at her, his brain trying to catch up with the conversation.

"It's no good Hawkeye, we all know he doesn't understand Amestrian until he's had coffee of some kind, and since Yuery isn't here to need him we might as well get used to the old way of things. At least for now." Havoc said from the other room. Hawkeye glared in Havoc's direction because somehow he forgot in his attempt to tease his boss that he was afraid of her.

Mustang meanwhile had already returned to his desk and was reading through the next file on the pile. He thanked Hawkeye for the coffee and everything returned to normal. Havoc received a call a few minutes later before entering Mustang's office with a knock. "Part of the street near the river collapsed. It looks like there was some sort of explosion in the sewer and several bodies have been found. My team says it looks like Scar may have been involved."

"Have they found Scar's body?"

"It doesn't look like it so far, but we still have a bit to weigh through so it's hard to say." Havoc replied as Mustang stood and followed him out of the office, grabbing his coat as he went. Hawkeye sighed and followed close behind. They would head of the scene but Mustang was not leaving her sight. For all they knew this could be a trick to drag Mustang out, so that Scar could get to him.


	8. Road of Hope

Road of Hope

Resembool – Rockbelle Automail Outfitters

1:00 pm

The giant and the boy crested the horizon as the old woman noticed them and yelled into the house that they had customers. She then walked over to meet them, and greeted the boy "Edward, it seems you are growing smaller."

"I'm taller than you, you old bat." Ed replied as Armstrong appeared scandalized.

As Ed and Granny explained that they were not actually angry or insulting each other, when Winry yelled from the porch "I've told you to call ahead Alchemy Freak!"

Armstrong continued to appear concerned with the interactions of these women and Edward. Ed frowned down at his chest before unwrapping the baby to make he was okay, since he hadn't made a sound the entire argument. Yuery blinked up at him when the blanket moved, leading Ed to believe the kid had been up, just exercising caution. He wasn't sure where exactly his son had learned this trait. Perhaps it was his birth parents…no it was Mustang. That bastard was wearing off on his kid! How dare he pass on his traits to ED'S son. Ed knew this was not a rational train of thought, he also didn't care.

Winry arrived in the yard at this point and made her way over to them. Ed was mostly hidden by Armstrong so he was able to take a moment to appreciate his impending doom once his son was no longer in the line of fire. "What happened this time Ed?" Winry asked in an annoyed tone as she flipped her pale yellow hair over her shoulder. She was wearing her usual coveralls with the top tied around her waist and a black sports bra. Her light blue eyes flashing to the empty right sleeve of Ed's red coat. Winry's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"We were attacked! It wasn't my fault Winry, I promise." Ed defended. This was not going well and he needed to take control of the conversation. "It looks worse than it is. I have the arm with me."

"Well, come on in then. Luckily for you we have no one here at the moment." Granny said before the teenagers could bicker further.

As soon as they came inside Granny insisted it was time to eat before they worried about work. Ed assumed she was trying to distract Winry to give her a chance to calm down over Ed breaking his arm again before she could go for a wrench. Ed felt it was a lost cause, but if he was going to die he would rather it be on a full stomach.

After he ate he noticed Yuery was once again asleep, now that the commotion ended the baby wanted to finish his nap. Ed loved that his son was very dedicated to napping. It made life easier when Ed wanted to research…or nap himself. They settled into the living room and Ed dreaded the upcoming conversation about his arm. Winry would hurt him. Or cry. Or cry while she hurt him. He hoped to skip the crying part.

Winry turned to Ed and asked if she could hold Yuery. The last few days had caused a severe resurgence in Ed's tendency to cling to the child but he also knew that he was being unreasonable. "Oh of course." Ed said as he awkwardly took the baby from the sling and placed him in Winry's arms. She smiled down at the groggy baby, as Ed watched carefully. It wasn't that he didn't trust Winry, he just was nervous with other people holding the baby. He adjusted her hold a couple of time because SHE WAS A FIEND who held the baby without supporting his head letting it flop back over her elbow. Ed bit his tongue for a few minutes before politely asking for the baby back. Instead of returning his son she stood and handed him over to Granny.

Ed watched on for a minute before reaching out and saying to Granny. "Here let me take him, you're holding him wrong, he's going to wake up with a stiff neck."

"Edward, I have been holding children since long before any of you were born. I know how to hold a baby." Granny said without bothering to look at him.

"Yes I know, but you-"

"I never damaged a child yet Edward."

"Yeah but-"

"Do you freak out when anyone holds him or do you just take offense to us holding him?"

"I don't usually let anyone aside from Mustang hold him, because they do it wrong."

"I think you are being overprotective." Granny said finally looking up. "I know how to care for a kid, I took care of you lot."

"Yes I know you do Granny. But you're still doing wrong. Just give him back." Ed said no longer attempting to keep the whine from his voice as he made a grabby hand gesture at his son, Winry snickered next to him and Granny shot him an unimpressed look before placing the baby back in his lap.

They finally thankfully turned their attention to his arm as Winry unwrapped the package containing the remains of his arm and turned on Edward in a rage. "Not as bad as it seems? Mostly alright? This is completely trashed Edward! What exactly happened here?"

"I- I- I can't talk about my missions Win. You know that." Edward said as he clutched Yuery closer to his chest. At this point even he didn't know if he was shielding the child or using him as a shield.

"Edward Elric. You were not on a mission when this occurred, nor is it a state secret." Major Armstrong replied, causing Edward to decide to hate him for the rest of forever before sighing heavily as the older man continued. "Edward ran across Scar accidentally. Scar was able to destroy Edward's arm and part of Alphonse's armor before reinforcements arrived. However, I have been instructed to remain by Edward's side until which time he is deemed fit for duty so fear not protection is a trait passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"

Edward sighed heavily, before asking how long the repair will take since he wants to hurry along to Central Library. Winry and Granny assure him it will be done in three days, his leg as well since it had become too short since Winry's visit. Now on much wobblier leg, and down one arm, Ed was concerned over the baby's care. Luckily (apparently) childcare had been passed down the Armstrong line for generations.

8:00 am

Rockbelle kitchen

Alex Armstrong came into the kitchen to find Pinako Rockbelle making breakfast, and no one else in sight. "Where is young Edward?"

"He took Yuery to meet his mom." Pinako said as she took a deep breath, before continuing her work as if no one had spoken.

Armstrong frowned, Edward was not to go anywhere unescorted until his repairs were finished, but having equal rank put Armstrong to a bit of a spot because he was either going after Ed and facing his wrath or allow Ed to do his own thing and face the possible court martial for dereliction of duties. Never mind the crippling guilt that would accompany this if anything were to happen.

He debated briefly, wondering if he should follow or wait. Pinako assured him that Edward would be safe, and that he had Den with him. Edward, meanwhile, was steadily making his way to the cemetery with flowers in his hand and his son once again tied to his chest.

Ed felt a little bad about it since he rarely used the sling anymore now that Yuery was able to hold on. With only one arm at the moment he didn't have much choice in the matter so he contented himself with having Granny help him arrange it so Yuery was sitting upright and facing outward so he could see the world around him. Along the way Ed had seen several people he had gone to school with back when he still went to school.

He honestly hadn't expected anyone to actually recognize him, not dressed as he was in a white button down, dark jacket, slacks and a ponytail. Not to mention the ten-month-old in the baby carrier. Surprisingly, several people came up to greet him along the way. Luckily, he now had lots of experience deflecting questions about his work and his son.

They finally arrived at his mother's grave. He carefully stooped rather than bending over to place the flowers just below the headstone before adjusting his stance so he could sit on the grass not caring if he gathered any grass stains. "Hi mom. I know it's been awhile, sorry about that." Ed began, before smiling down at the babbling baby. "I wanted to introduce you to your grandson. This is Yuery Elric. Yeah I named him after Uncle Yuery. I know, I know. I'm too young and too busy to be someone's dad. Hell, after the one I got I don't even know how to be a dad… but I'm trying. I got all these books on how to take care of him, and I read them all, even the gross and scary parts. I know I still have to fix my mistakes, I promise I haven't forgotten. I'll fix Al no matter how long it takes! I swear. I'm going to."

Ed sits quietly, gathering his thoughts and pushing back his tears. "I had to do this mom. I had to. I couldn't let him suffer, he was just a baby. He's still just a baby. Like I said, I don't know what I'm doing… but I love him, and I can't imagine life without him, that's gotta count for something. Mustang. I've told you about Mustang before. Mustang has been helping me a lot. Apparently, childcare is on his long list of things he knows how to do and is willing to cover me with… I know he's not a parent. I know he's not in the market to be a parent. Sometimes though. Sometimes it feels like one, and maybe that's okay. I know it's stupid and weak to want a dad after everything I did I don't have the right, but sometimes I'm selfish enough to want one anyway."

Ed rubbed his eyes to ensure no tears had fallen. It was bad enough the things he'd said to her, he didn't need to make it worse by crying because he didn't deserve it. Not after everything he'd done. Yuery looked up at his bowed face and patted his cheek roughly with a chubby half fisted hand as he cooed. Ed smiled in return. He may not deserve all this, but his brother did. His baby did. So it was on him to make sure they didn't suffer anything else.

When he finally left the cemetery the sun was high in the sky, his stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten before he left, and his son reminded him that he had forgotten to bring a bottle either. At the gate stood Armstrong. Ed was grateful that the man had stayed far enough away that none of his conversation with his mother had been overheard.

Armstrong fell into step beside him as he limped his way back toward the house. Ed froze on the road before making his way up to the ruins of his childhood home. He wanted to take a moment to remind himself of his resolve. Neither spoke as Armstrong once again hung back far enough that should Ed want to speak privately to his son Armstrong would not hear any of it, but close enough that should someone tried to attack him Armstrong could defend him quickly.

Afterward, they finished their walk to the house in silence before Ed nodded his thanks and walked around back to flop down next to his brother. He had promised Winry he would bug her over his arm again, but it made him antsy to be unable to transmute quickly, or that he needed help with his child, or that he needed to fix Al.

Rockbelle Living room

2:00 pm

Ed had been lounging outside non the lawn while Yu napped in the old playpen Granny had dug up somewhere in the living room when Winry announced his limbs were ready. He had rushed inside and after peeking in on the baby he was ready. Without embarrassment, thanks to years of routine, Ed stripped off his tee shirt leaving him in his boxers as he sat on the chair set up near the playpen. Pinako kneeled next to him as she removed the temporary leg and Winry waited at his shoulder.

Armstrong watched as they lined up his arm and legs and attached the nerves perfectly in synch as Ed arched silently before he moaned slightly and rotated his shoulder. He gave himself a moment to recover but before Winry could suggest he lay down for a bit but he threw on his clothes and scooped up his son before she was done talking. A moment later he rushed out of the door to 'properly show him around' with Armstrong trailing behind.

"Do you really believe Ed about where he came from?" Pinako asked casually as she cleaned up the tools.

"I don't see why he would lie about it. Plus, honestly, knowing Ed him randomly rescuing the kid and then just keeping him sounds more believable." WInry said as she smiled down at the baby.

"I agree. The runt doesn't look a thing like Ed either." Pinako said.

"Al doesn't believe him though. He thinks Ed made up the whole England story." WInry said with a frown. Then she shrugged. "Well, I believe him but it doesn't matter. Yuery's his now and Ed's great with him."

Ed and Armstrong returned a few minutes later and Winry snatched the baby from his arms. "What the hell Winry, what are you doing?"

"You need a shower before you Edify the baby." Winry said as she half turned so he couldn't snatch the baby back.

"Edify? What"

"You haven't had a proper shower in three days. He's going to end up all stinky and smelling like you. GO take a shower and change then you can have him back."

"Granny! Make Winry give me back my baby!" Ed whined. Granny seemed to think on the matter for a moment before suggesting that Ed follow Winry's "advice". Ed stormed off grumbling about everyone teaming up on him and swearing revenge.

6:00pm

After his shower and dinner Ed passed out on the couch with Yuery. Yuery as usual mimicking his father perfectly as they laid with a hand on their exposed bellies and mouths hanging open. "Sleeping with his belly out again. He'll catch cold. Ed's just as bad that's where he gets it." Winry said as she gently tugged Ed's shirt back down and moved the baby to the playpen before covering them both with blankets.

"He's always slept like that, even when we were all little." WInry said as she sat next to Ed. "Reattachment wipes him out, someone else needs to watch over the baby tonight, he's not going to be up to it no matter what he said."

"Is reattachment really that bad?" Armstrong asked with concern. Winry nodded as Granny explained the medical end of the procedure. "I will care for young Yuery. He is a truly delightful child! I am honored to come to the aide of such a brave and noble young man as Edward Elric."

Mustang-Elric Residence

7:00am

Roy rushed to catch the phone only for Edward to immediately ask for his brother. With a scoff he handed off the phone but continued to stand right next to Al, fully intending to demand the phone back before Edward had a chance to hand up. They had heard from Armstrong twice since they left, but Ed had not called before now and both of them were anxious to hear from him.

"What really? That sounds like a good lead! When do we leave? Who's watching Yuery?" Al said into the phone. Before being quiet for a few minutes, then adding. "Okay! I'll see you tomorrow then, and you're sure it'll be okay for Yuery to come? … Well no, but I'm sure Roy wouldn't mind watching him and if we have a lot to decode it would be even longer with the baby…no…okay….No, it's okay you're right, it was rude…Okay. Here's Roy."

Mustang quickly took the phone, hoping Ed hadn't decided to hang up.

"Okay, I know you were right there so you heard part of that. I got a solid lead while on the way here, and I need to track it down in Central, but it isn't a big deal. Like not dangerous at all because it's just visiting the LIBRARY" Ed said as soon as Roy said hello. He seemed very excited.

"Where did you get this lead, what is it exactly?" Roy asked with a small smile. He hadn't heard Ed excited about anything since Nina and he was relieved the boy was finally healing. "I can arrange for Gracia Hughes to babysit if it becomes necessary."

"Maybe. We'll worry about the details when I can debrief you in person. I should be home late this evening if we can catch the next train. What's the Scar situation?"

"We are still under guard, and limiting time in the city for anyone who can avoid it, so you. Once you pick up your brother and get some rest I can sign off on your trip to Central with no hassle."

"Oh good. Like I said I'll explain when I get home. Okay. Tell Al I love him. See you guys soon, bye!"

Roy hung up before passing on the message and returning to his morning routine that for now included feeding the cat. Though to be fair it usually involved feeding the cat was part of his morning anyway with as often as the boys had been going out of town lately. He was also glad that it seemed Yuery would be allowed to go as well, not because Roy wanted the baby to leave but because he knew how much it bothered Ed to leave the child behind.

7:00 pm

Edward grumpily walked in the front door before dropping his suitcase and coat in the entryway and kicking off his shoes while juggling his son and ignoring Armstrong. Roy glared pointedly without speaking until Ed rolled his eyes and picked up his coat to hang on its hook and placing his boots on the shoe mat while asking. "Is there any dinner left? Train food sucks." However before Roy can respond Ed passed the baby to him and ran toward the living room to fix his brother, Roy turned to Armstrong to ask if he was hungry as well, but Armstrong declined and left for the evening but promising to be back in the morning.

Roy returned to the kitchen to finish cooking dinner which he had delayed knowing that Ed would be hungry when he got there. The loud ring of a transmutation filled the house from the other room as Ed repaired Al. A few minutes later the boys joined him in the kitchen and they sat down for dinner. As they ate Ed explained how they had run into Marcoh and he had told Ed where to find his research. Ed again insisted that it would be perfectly safe to take Yuery with them because he was just going to spend a couple of days in the library.

Roy agreed that it would be safe enough for Yuery to come along, but suggested again he call the Hughes to ask if they would mind watching the baby while the boys worked and if the boys could stay with them. Roy would feel better about the whole thing if they weren't staying in the hotel while Scar was on the loose. Ed agreed that it would be more convenient having stayed in hotels with the baby before on occasion so while the boys went outside to spar Roy called Hughes and watched over Yuery.

Yuery needed a bath, and Roy drew the short straw since Ed also needed a bath and Roy didn't want them up too late since they had an early train. After angering the baby with water, Roy managed to get him to sleep, and Ed came by Roy's room to collect him an hour later. The cat was curled around the baby in the center of Roy's bed and Roy was sitting on the far side reading another file from the pile on his night table. "Edward. Can we talk for a moment?" Roy asked as Ed reached to scoop up the baby.

"Sure." Ed said, sitting down on the bed with the baby in his arms. He was concerned by Roy's tone of voice, and knew that he had been on the phone with Hughes for some time earlier.

"It has not been confirmed yet, of course, but I have heard suggested by several sources that I will soon be transferred to Central HQ. I would like to have you transfer with me, and for all three of you to continue to live with me once we arrive in Central. I would be getting a bigger house than this of course, and I would understand if you would prefer to return to your own space but-"

"You want us to keep staying with you? Like permanently?" Ed interrupted. He was surprised by the idea that anyone would want to put up with his strangeness aside from his brother, who was just as strange.

"Of course!"

"Well then, yeah we'd love to stay with you Roy. Thank you." Ed said with a happy smile. He remembered his conversation with his mom the other day, and though he didn't truly think communicating with the dead was possible, he felt almost like she was giving her permission for him to let at least a tiny bit of the guilt go and allow himself the idea of a new family of a sort. "Who else would be coming?"

" I don't know for sure yet. I can guarantee your transfer as your sponsor but the others I can't swear to who else may be allowed to go." Roy said, sounding just a tiny bit sad over the idea that he may lose a large chunk of his team with this transfer. Ed excused himself and Yuery to head to bed, and though he didn't want to be separated from the team, he felt oddly relieved and comforted by Roy keeping him and his brother and son.


	9. Hidden Truths

Hidden Truths

Central City

Former Central State Library

1:00pm

Edward stared blankly at the ruins of the former library as Armstrong talked quietly with Al, Danny Broch, and Maria Ross. Ed was trying to make sense of this because it was insane that this had happened. The entire thing was gone! Just gone.

They heard of a woman who had worked for the library who may be able to help them, so they made their way quickly to Sheska's place, and after digging her out of a mountain of books arranged for her to reproduce the books Ed needed. But they still would have to wait. Yuery decided what they were doing next by yelling loudly, indicating (according to Ed) that he was hungry.

The problem here was that Broch and Ross seemed to feel Ed's plan to go to a near by restaurant to find lunch was a security risk. Ed steadfastly refused to take the baby to Central Command, because so far, aside from one report in a paper no one ever trusted, no one outside of Eastern Command knew that Yuery was here. There were rumors but Mustang had made sure to keep them muddied enough that they weren't believed.

Ed himself had not confirmed the child was his aside from those in East HQ and that random girl in Liore. The question now though was what to do about lunch. Apparently even saying you have a problem in your head called down the presence of Lt. Col Hughes, who managed to somehow materialize in the park where the four of them stood arguing over where to go.

Before Ed really knew what was happening they had arrived at the Hughes' apartment several hours before Edward had intended to arrive. He liked Hughes, but the man was emotionally draining with his amount of exuberance. Elicia adored the Elrics and Yuery charmed the Hughes. Gracia even dug out some of Elicia's old baby toys for him.

Ed found himself sitting on the floor, playing tea party with Elicia and Yuery and several of Elicia's stuffed toys. He didn't notice Hughes pulling out the camera or the first photo, but when Hughes wound the camera for the next photo Ed noticed. Hughes bravely snapped the photo anyway and then ran from the angry teen. Ed followed behind, ignoring the giggles as he chased Hughes through the apartment shedding a large floppy hat and strings of glass beads along the way.

Five Days Later  
1:00pm

Central City

Ed had originally been reluctant to leave Yuery in Gracia's care while he worked, but she managed to talk him into it so he had reluctantly left the baby in her arms as they headed out that morning to collect Sheska's finished work. He wouldn't have agreed normally, but Roy vouched for Gracia's childcare talent, and He would get through it all faster without distractions.

Hughes, meanwhile, had somehow used his weird magic like ability to recruit Sheska into working for his office using her talents to reproduce missing arrest and evidence files. With everyone out of the house, Gracia spent the morning playing with the two children and her usual cleaning routine before putting them both down for a nap. Ed had been very clear that it went against his personal belief to leave the baby alone while he slept. Hughes had quietly explained that the child's mother had passed away roughly seven months ago and that the boys had lost the rest of their family at some point in their early childhood, therefore Ed was expected to be a bit paranoid.

She left the baby to sleep in the living room once he had fallen asleep and sat in a nearby chair to finish her knitting while watching over the children. She smiled down at the sleeping baby. Recently, they had begun considering adding a second child to their family. Their biggest consideration had been if Elicia was big enough to be a sister yet, but the last few days with the baby had alleviated her concerns.

Hughes had cautioned her against taking the children out at least today, because they were concerned about this Scar using Yuery against Ed somehow. As far as they knew no one this far outside of the east knew about Yuery, and Ed didn't think Scar knew about him, but they weren't taking any chances. Mustang had talked for some time last night, first with Maes, then with Ed, then with Maes again. She wasn't sure what was going on and she hadn't asked. Years of being the wife of an intelligence agent had taught her that if he could say he would and otherwise leave it alone.

Six days later

3:00 pm

Yuery was a delightful child in Gracia's opinion. He seemed rather fussy the first couple of days but had since settled into her care. Ed had been dragging himself in late every evening and leaving with Maes in the morning but he did make sure to spend time with the baby every day. She wondered if the boy was getting enough sleep. Al hadn't been returning at all, Ed explained he was staying in the research room with their work which couldn't be left unattended and had a cot set up for him. "Normally, I'd have stayed with him too, but I couldn't just leave Yu like that. I hate leaving him at all. Don't usually unless I'm out in the field." He had explained.

Yuery had just woken from his nap and he and Elicia were playing on the floor with a stack of wooden blocks. She would stack them up and he would knock them over as he snickered. He could and would crawl off whenever someone looked away but luckily their house had long been given over to child safety. She had just caught the squealing baby and returned him to the blanket when the phone rang.

"Hughes residence." She said politely into the phone while watching for another escape attempt.

"Gracia, I can't talk long and this is a public line." Maes said from the other end, letting her know to be careful how she responded to whatever he was about to say. "Edward seems to have had an accident. He is currently in the hospital. I'm going to be a tad late so I can stop by to see him. Please plan to feed an extra person tonight."

"Okay. Let him know that we're thinking of him and hope he recovers quickly." Gracia said in return before hanging up and wondering who her husband was dragging home now as well as feeling very concerned for Edward. He hadn't turned up here last night which had been alarming in light of his prior behavior so she wasn't completely surprised to hear he was injured and was glad it wasn't worse.

Maes arrived an hour later with a slightly shellshocked looking girl. She appeared to be about Edward's age with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Maes introduced her as Ed's mechanic and friend. Yuery seemed to recognize her as well, since when he saw her he yelled happily before excitedly slapping his hands against his knees and giggling.

Winry went straight for the baby who reached for her when she was close enough. "Hey Yu. Don't worry, Daddy will be back soon."

Yu patted her cheek in response before offering her a hug and then shoving a fistful of her hair in his mouth. "Do we know how long he'll be there then?" Gracia asked careful not to say 'where' in front of her daughter.

"Oh he'll be in at least a week and he's going to be terrible about it too." WInry said in response.

"Well, good news. Winry's going to be staying for the birthday party then!" Maes said cheerfully. He and Winry then gushed over the cuteness of the soon to be three year old and the soon to be eleven month old.

"I need to call Roy and let him know what's going on." Maes said as he disappeared into the den and Winry sat down with Gracia and pulled Yuery into her lap. She adored the baby though Ed was stingy with him so she planned to take advantage of this visit to cuddle the boy as much as possible.

"Yuery will be eleven months on the 2nd, did you know?" WInry said after a moment.

"No Ed didn't mention it, but I'm not sure he planned on staying much longer… he didn't plan to stay as long as he has for that matter." Gracia said. "Yu likes you a lot."

"Oh I love him, he's such a good baby! He didn't get his dad's temperament at all." Winry said with a laugh. She made sure to remind herself that aside from herself, Al, and Mustang everyone had been told Ed was the child's birth father so she just told herself that he was to keep it easier. It didn't really matter to her where the baby came from clearly Ed loved the child completely. "He got most of his traits from his birth mother, I think. Though I think he may be as smart as his dad, or close anyway, and stubborn. He's stubborn like Ed."

"Have you known Ed long?"

"My whole life!" Winry said with a smile. "Our parents knew each other so we were always left to play together from the crib. He's my best friend. He doesn't talk to me much anymore though."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Getting used to parenting can do that though. I'm sure now that he's getting better at juggling it all he'll make more time for you and his other friends." Gracia said as Maes returned.

"Ed's been freezing me out since he joined up a little at a time. I mean he talks if I call him, but he never really says much. He even forgot to tell me Yuery was living with him for a couple of months!" Winry said.

"Oh darn it. I forgot to tell Roy Ed was in the hospital." Maes said before adding. "I'll just call him back at work tomorrow."

With that they led Winry to the guest room and Gracia offered to take Yuery back, but Winry declined opting to keep the baby with her. She was going to prove to Ed she still had a place in his life and could help him anyway he needed. She loved him after all, not that she was going to tell him THAT.

The next day

Eastern HQ Mustang's Office

11:00am

Mustang and his team were frustrated with the lack of evidence in the Scar situation. He was also frustrated with the rumors; in that he was to be transferred back to Central. He, of course, would welcome the move, provided he could manage to swing some other transfers with his own. Namely his office staff. Havoc and Hawkeye in particular, but Falman, Fuery, and Breda as well. Edward had been office staff lately but that was a non-issue. One, because that was a temporary arrangement to avoid having to put in leave to Central, and Two, as Edward's sponsor he was to remain his direct commander as long as they both remained in active service.

He would have to arrange moving the Elrics as well as himself should the word come in before the boys were back. This thought made him frown again because Ed had not checked in in a few days. This had become very unusual the last few months, and had never been common. True, Ed rarely officially checked in when on a mission counting on the paper trail letting Roy know he was fine, but when he took a research leave like now the boy would check in every other day, if for no other reason to ensure that no one accused him of going AWOL and freezing his accounts.

Hughes called again, but Mustang was annoyed enough that he barely paid attention to the call, and made excuses quickly. Hughes mentioned that he had heard the transfer was coming. Hughes would know, he seemed to know what people were up to before they knew themselves. If only he would stop nagging about Roy's personal life. Before he could brood further on the matter, Hawkeye reminded him with a pointed look that he had paperwork waiting for him.

Another long sigh later he was back to the stacks of work waiting for him. Instead of reading through dull requisitions requests for yet more lightbulbs and toilet paper however, he was making a list of things he needed to get together in the event he had to move. Primarily, he would need to arrange new housing for himself as well as deciding what would become of his current home. Then he would need to arrange the transfer of his books and personal items to this new location, and one couldn't trust just anyone with this task. He needed to try to arrange the transfer of Edward and Hawkeye as well because he already decided that he would be taking at least them with him.

Hawkeye came in to see how much progress he had made in the leaning tower of files, and was disappointed in his lack of progress, and since the room was already spotless and the windows clean, he had no choice but to get to work. After all, the men couldn't go without light no matter how inefficient it seemed to bother someone this high up the chain when any 2nd Lt could have approved the request.

Two Days Later

Mustang's Office Eastern HQ

Mustang had received official word that morning when he arrived in the office that he was being transferred to Central Command to take over Brasq Gran's position as head of the State Alchemist Program. Rumor had it he was likely to be promoted by the end of the year as well.

He barely had a moment to celebrate internally this good news when the reality hit him in the form of paperwork. He was buried in new paperwork immediately following the news' arrival. Paperwork on the transfer itself, paperwork to fill out for his replacement, paperwork on who he intended to request to transfer with him, paperwork of the current State certified alchemists coming up on renewals, paperwork on the upcoming exams, and then his usual paperwork was added to the stack.

He got to work on the pile, he only had a couple of weeks to get through all of this, and it all needed to be done before he moved. He also needed to take care of everything on his previously written list that was somewhere near the bottom of this pile. Luckily, he remembered everything on it, or at least most of it. Still, there were going to be some long nights involved for the next few weeks.

"I miss the kid." Breda said with a sigh from the front office. "Does anyone know when they'll be back. That kid really lightens the mood around here."

"I'm sure they'll be back soon." Havoc said in response, before leaning back so he could see into Mustang's office to add. "Have we heard from the Elrics lately?"

"Fullmetal had a research opportunity appear while he was on medical leave. I approved he return to active duty and resume his normal activities under guard, which has since been lifted." Mustang said in a carefully cultivated bored tone that fooled none of his men but would anyone listening into the conversation. "As to when he will return to the area, I have not been informed of an intended return date however he was still in the process of decoding the work when I last spoke to him therefore I do not expect him to return yet."

Before the conversation could continue Hawkeye was sure to hand out work for everyone in the front office, and Mustang returned his attention to his own piles. He hoped to hear from Edward today or tomorrow, Edward's assessment was coming up soon and he hadn't summited anything yet. Mustang may be able to buy Ed some leeway with the year Ed had had but only a little. If he hadn't heard from Ed in the next few days he would have to start hunting the boy down to remind him of his deadline.

6:45pm

Mustang – Elric Residence

Roy called the Hughes house again, wanting to know how the research was going for the boys and when they expected to return because unless it was in the next couple of days they might as well stay there. He had managed to get permission today to take whoever he wanted with him and Edward and Riza were the top of his list.

He would talk to the team about it in the next few days, for now he needed to talk to his boys. Gracia answered the phone, which was a far more pleasant experience when it came to getting to the point, but when he asked for Edward, she handed him off to Maes. This left a very sinking feeling in his stomach. Why would she not just say they weren't back yet, unless something had happened to them?

It only took a few moments for Maes to come to the phone but Roy had managed to work himself up into a near panic. "What happened to my boys Maes?!"

"Now Roy. There is no need to panic. The boys will be fine." Maes said in a voice he often used to soothe his daughter. It didn't work on Roy at all.

"What do you mean they will be fine? What. Happened."

"Edward went in search of a lead, and he was injured. It appeared he was ambushed by a couple of unknown assailants. I'm still trying to get the whole story out of him, but it seems his automail malfunctioned and arm stopped working part of the way through a fight."

"WHAT?!"

"As I said, he will be fine! He's in the hospital now, and is expected to be there for a bit longer. I took Yuery over to see him yesterday. He was in good spirits, and young Ms. Rockbelle is staying with us now and helping out with the kids. She already repaired Ed's arm. Apparently it was a faulty screw or wire or something, but it shouldn't be a problem again."

"Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?"

"Well, I meant to tell you the other day when I called but it slipped my mind and I haven't had a chance to call you back again."

"Maes-"

"Be fair Roy, you would have panicked and come straight here, ruining your promotion. We both know it. Riza knows it. It's why she never gives you Ed's hospital papers until he's already released."

"She does what"

"Oh no, Gracia's calling I got to go. Talk to you soon."

Roy was livid. So no one thought he could handle bad news? What was wrong with them all?! How was he supposed to make it all the way to the top with his people hiding things from him for his own good. He could handle it, and he would be sure to let Hughes know that the next time he talked to him, as well as demanding Maes do whatever it takes to find out exactly what happened to Edward and find the ones who hurt him. Roy was not being overprotective or overly emotional. He would be just as angry over anyone. He assumed. Maybe not, but it was the principle of the matter. Meanwhile, Roy needed to pay Riza a visit.


	10. Separate Destinations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this a day early as I won't be able to access my computer tomorrow. Posting schedule will return to every other day after this chapter.

Separate Destinations

Central City Train Station

11:00 am

Hughes had escorted the Elrics and Winry to the train station after insisting they not attempt to walk all the way over there from the hospital so soon after Ed had been seriously injured. Ed of course insisted that he was fine but finally agreed when Winry agreed it was more practical this way as well instead of trying to gather all of their things and make it to the station in time.

Winry refused to let Ed carry Yuery onto the train, insisting that he was still recovering from injuries and a heavy squirming baby would not help matters. Al, likewise, insisted on carrying all the luggage. Hughes, in an attempt to soothe Ed's rising tempter, first reminded him that Ed was the one who wanted to minimize the number of people in Central who connected Yuery to himself, and second offered him a large food basket put together by Gracia to carry. Ed didn't care so much about locals learning of his son as it was he was still worried about Those People coming around to find them but he couldn't very well explain this, so he let it go.

Once the train was underway, and they had settled into a seat near the back of their car, Ed once again reached for his son. Yuery dived at his father before Winry could react, landing neatly in Ed's arms and snuggling up under Ed's chin while patting his father's chest. Ed chuckled slightly, as this was not uncommon when he left Yuery with Mustang for a few hours, or more recently, Gracia. Once the baby had settled himself, he waved happily at Winry and babbled to her while chewing on his finger as if to assure her there were no hard feelings, he just preferred his dad to everyone else.

Winry smiled back at the baby in return before commenting about how kind the Hughes were and that she had managed to wrangle the recipe for pie from Gracia. As the miles slipped away from them, Al asked if Ed had remembered to call Mustang.

Ed had not, but he promised to call and check in from Rush Valley since they would be there for a couple of days before heading on to meet with their teacher. Both brothers then reacted with such fear at the mention of the woman that Winry was slightly concerned for their safety.

Rush Valley

3:00 pm

Edward managed to find a phone, and after the annoyingly long process of code exchange he was connected to Mustang's office. This is why he hated calling in, it involved way too much talking to people he didn't know. Riza Hawkeye picked up the call then. "Hey Hawkeye, is he around right now or should I call back later?"

"He'll be right with you Edward. How are you recovering?"

"Oh. You heard about that?" Ed asked with a wince.

"Of course, that paperwork arrived yesterday."

"Was Mustang upset?"

"He was very concerned about your injuries."

"I've had worse. It'll be fine."

"Well. I am transferring you into him now."

Edward waited while making faces at Yuery as Winry stood with him nearby. She was close enough that Ed could get to them quickly but far enough away that as long as he spoke quietly, she wouldn't overhear him. He couldn't tell Mustang everything he wanted to over the phone, but he knew enough about being cryptic that he could pass some of it on.

"Colonel Mustang."

"Hello Sir, Fullmetal checking in." Ed said in case the call was being monitored.

"Edward. Are you still in the hospital?" Roy responded with enough feeling in his tone to let Ed know no one was actively listening in.

"Umm. No. Actually I needed to speak to my Teacher so I am headed South."

"What happened to you?"

"Three cracked ribs, a bunch of bruises, fifty-seven stitches altogether. Personally, I think the doctor was a sadist who enjoys needles because I doubt it really needed as many as they gave me. He put twenty in my forehead and it's not that big of a wound!" Ed could swear he heard Roy pinch his nose over the phone. It didn't seem like a very safe or effective practice actually to pinch one's nose to ward off a headache. "It wasn't my fault, the idiot hit my arm weird and it went and broke on me in the middle, which was absolutely no one's fault and could happen to anyone and no one can blame Winry for it. I'll fight them if they try.

"Relax Ed, no one wants to fight you about it. Should you be traveling right now with all of that. Perhaps you should –"

"Nah. We'll be fine. I should be back by Yu's birthday but if I'm not we can celebrate it again once we get home."

"If it's going to be that long, there's no point in bothering to return to East City at the moment. I will be in Central by the first. If you wanted to meet me there to help pick a house?"

"Why wait until we get there to pick one? Just make sure there's room for all of us and it'll be great. Thanks again Roy… I mean Colonel.

"If you're sure…I can arrange to have a trusted associate look into housing and have it ready before any of us arrive."

"That sounds like a better plan. I love the Hughes, they're great, but I don't want to try to crowd into their house for who knows how long…"

"Very well. Be sure to call again soon, and remember it's nearly time for your annual assessment."

"I will and I know. I already have it all filled out and just need to file it. I have it in my suitcase right now I will turn it in as soon as I can."

"Very Well. Please try to avoid trouble."

"Yeah. Yeah. I'll call you when I get to Teacher's."

5:00pm

He had chased the little thief all the way out of town and up the mountain with Al's help and Winry following behind carrying Yuery. Somehow, this led to him being examined by the old mechanic with Al giggling in the background pretending it was cooing over Yuery and NOT his brother's misery, but Ed knew the truth. Dominic caught Ed's attention by mentioning the probable likelihood of automail weight being a primary source of Ed's stature (he said the metal was making Ed short).

Ed walked away from the meeting both elated and defeated in equal measures thanks to Dominic's refusal to teach Winry his tricks. He and Al spotted Satella, they ask if they can feel her belly and she agrees, which serves to distract Ed from his misery. "Babies are amazing." Ed finally says as he moves away, after getting his fill of the strong kicks and squirms of her belly, or rather Yuery grows tired of the way his father was leaning over and allowing him to semi-hang forward.

"Who is this?" Satella asks politely as she smiles at the baby, who once his father stood went back to happily gurgling and waiving his fists.

"Oh, this is Yuery. He is the best thing to happen to me in years." Ed gushed. Normally, he'd be embarrassed to be accused of Hughes-worthy gushing, but he assumed that gushing to other parents was allowed.

"Da. Da. Ababana. Ba." Yuery added solemnly, before giggling and waiving his fists again, this time adding some leg kicking.

"Oh. He's…yours?" Satella said with a frown.

"Uh, yeah. I know, I know. I've heard the lectures." Ed said, as the baby let out another stream of 'Dada-ababas' and arm swinging. "Babies are the greatest miracle this world offers… the only true miracle."

"Oh, I didn't mean any insult." She said hastily. "I was just surprised I suppose. I don't know why, it's just you here… he doesn't look like you though."

"He takes after his mother." Ed said, now used to saying it that it comes out easily if a little stiffly.

"I see." She said, and it occurred to Al that until then the woman assumed Winry was the mom. Before the conversation could continue, she leaned over clutching her stomach and the panic began.

10:00 pm

Paninya returned his watch, and his son, after he helped Winry to a seat. So the three of them sat in the hall quietly as the baby drifted off to sleep. Winry frowned uncomfortably, partly thanks to stiffness but mostly because of the frostiness between them. She hated that she had hurt him by violating his trust. It was entirely her fault, but she did hope he would forgive her.

"Don't cry." Ed said in a rough tone without actually looking at her.

"I'm not." Winry said, even as she rubbed her eyes. She was making a very valiant effort to avoid it. "I'm just tired…and sorry. Very, very sorry."

"I know." Ed said with a sigh as he hugged her to his side. "I know you weren't trying to upset me or anything. I'll get over it Win, I always do."

Winry nodded as she tried to think of a different subject. The easiest way for them both to get over this would be to leave it alone for now. She looked at the sleeping baby in his lap for a minute and then said. "Can I? I mean can I hold him?"

"Sure, just don't let his head hang weird this time." Ed said as he passed off the baby to her. She shifted him slightly, so his head was well supported and then smiled down at his frown at being moved.

"I never asked. What happed to his forehead?" Winry asked tracing the faint scar with a fingertip.

"I'm not sure. It happened the night his mom died." Ed said with a shrug. If he had access to information on whatever was done to kill them he would look it up because he was concerned that it would do some harm to the child. It was on the long list of things he worried about.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope he doesn't remember it. That would be awful." WInry said as she hugged the baby tighter.

"According to the books he doesn't, but I think he might, at least a little bit." Ed said softly now reaching over to smooth the baby's hair down. "Though I think it'll fade with time. Like how I remember more about That Man than Al does…the younger they are the easier they forget. That's why I gotta hurry up. Al needs a chance to be normal. Yu needs to have a happy childhood. It's my job to make sure that happens."

"You don't have to always do everything alone Ed. We're here for you, when you're ready to let us in." WInry said.

Ed sighs and nods before leaning his head back against the wall and Winry lays her head on his shoulder which is how they fall asleep that night.

10:00 pm

East City HQ

Mustang's Office

The phone call was concerning. The lack of response when Roy tried to call back was even more concerning. He paced his office as he waited for someone to get back to him, because he called Central Investigations after he couldn't get ahold of Hughes by calling the phoneline back. They seemed to think he was being paranoid, but promised to go look into it and call him back. That had been two hours ago.

He wasn't stepping foot out of this office until he heard back from them, but he had taken a brief moment to use the separate line in the outer office to call Hawkeye and tell her what he knew so far. She had arrived thirty minutes later with coffee and proceeded to resume working as if it were normal office hours.

He had attempted to do so as well, after all the entire reason he had still been at the office when the call had come in was because he was trying to get through all this paperwork as quickly as possible. He had stared at the same page for about an hour before signing it. It was either a paper request or food receipt or something along those lines but he honestly had no idea which is why he stopped. He couldn't afford to sign anything he wasn't certain of because that's how bad things happened.

He worried instead, trying to wear a hole in his carpet and rubbing his fingers together though not with his gloves which were in his pocket. Then his phone rang and he barked his name before going silent long enough to concern Hawkeye. Finally, he simply hung up and turned to her. "Maes is dead. Someone killed him." Hawkeye gasped as he gripped the edge of his desk. He needed to call Gracia. He needed to get to Central. He needed to go. Without another word, he simply walked out of the office. He didn't notice if he was followed, nor did he care that he left his coat behind, he needed fresh air and a moment to himself.

Dublith

7:45 am

Ed and Al had left with Yu first thing in the morning, but Winry had stayed behind to begin training under a new mechanic. Once the boys had reached the next town, Ed had called in from the train station. Roy had seemed stiff and had informed Ed that he (Roy) would be out of town for a couple of days but would return by the end of the week. He also repeated that he would be officially moved to Central before Yuery's birthday, so Ed could meet him there anytime after that. Ed was concerned that something had happened but perhaps it was nothing more than yet another wiretap, so he shrugged it off and headed toward his Teacher induced Doom.

Edward and Alphonse walked down the street toward the shop owned by their teacher and her husband with tense anticipation. Ed was well aware that this conversation was not going to go well, no matter how much he tried to practice what he wanted to say. Yuery was once again riding in his sling, to free Ed's hands to help carry the diaper bag and his coat, which were both slung over his right arm. Al was carrying the suitcase as usual, as they arrived at the door and knocked.

Sig Curtis, their teacher's husband, was a towering hulk of a man with black hair and an intimidating air about him. His wife, Izumi, was their teacher. She was half her husband's size and twice as scary. Her immediate reaction to seeing Ed was to punch him in the face. His arms immediately dropped the items he carried to protectively wrap around his son.

He fell flat on his butt at the same time causing Izumi to scoff before she noticed he was protecting the bundle. Curiosity stilled her hand before she could land a second hit, but didn't stop her from flipping Al flat on his back. Ed had gathered enough of his dignity to drag himself to his feet while she was distracted. She then asked if it was true that he was now a state alchemist. He nodded, but refused to look away as he informed her that he saw no choice.

She then invited them inside. They sat around the table as she finished serving breakfast, the smell causing Yuery to stir. Ed smiled down at his son before pulling him out of the sling, and digging around the diaper bag for his bib. It wasn't until he settled the baby on his lap that he noticed Izumi and Sig had frozen in place at the sight of the baby. "…Um, this is Yuery. Yuery this is Auntie Izumi and Uncle Sig." Ed said before he carefully spooned some eggs into a bowl and began mashing them up for the baby.

"Where did he come from?" Sig asked as Izumi disappeared back into the kitchen, and reappeared a moment later with a carafe of milk.

"Impulsive life choices?" Ed said and his brother snorted.

"He's lived with us the last eight months since Brother brought him home." Al added when his brother glared at him. "He's Ed's son."

"Edward, you're 15!" Sig responded.

"I'm aware. I'm also a legal adult and the legal guardian of Yuery and Al." Ed said defensively. "We have our own apartment, and I pay all the bills on time, and I never make the same mistake twice."

"Where's the mother?" Izumi asked stiffly.

"Dead." Ed said. "She died just before he came to live with us. Can you pass the milk please, he needs a refill."

"Drink some yourself while you're at it." Izumi said as she passed the milk. Ed snorted but otherwise ignored the offer.

Overall breakfast could have gone worse. They did eventually get back around to the subject of Ed's military status, much to his dismay. "I needed access to resources that are only open to state alchemists." Ed defended. "And we needed money to survive."

"So, you just went and sold yourself off to the military? Did you ignore my teachings altogether!?"

"No! AND I've done a lot of good with this watch." Ed defended. "I HELP people."

"They use you to kill sooner or later."

"Mustang won't let that happen! He does everything he can to keep us safe." Ed defended again. Izumi scoffs in disbelief, but Ed carries on. "It's true. He looks out for us and he helps every way he can. Hell He's the one who takes care of the baby if I need someone to care for him or I have a mission. He even had us move in with him a few weeks ago when he decided we needed more adults around. Mustang's a good guy and a talented alchemist."

Yuery decided that his father's distraction was unacceptable at this point and yelled loudly waiving his hands and trying to grab the bowl. Luckily Ed had been sure to leave it just out of reach and simply went back to spooning food into his son's mouth. "Once he's fed, meet outside. I want to see how lazy you've become." Izumi said, before filling her own plate. Sig and Ed then filled their own to finish breakfast. Al insisted he wasn't hungry, and Sig offered to watch over the baby while the boys trained with Izumi.


	11. Beasts of Dublith

Beasts of Dublith

7:00pm

Izumi had confronted Ed on what they had done, and largely he was relieved as he admitted to trying to bring back their mom. Even when she kicked them out. Especially when they returned with Sig's advice and were now staying a few days.

After they had settled into the guest room, and finished the chores Izumi assigned them, Al retired to study, and Ed laid out Yuery's play blanket and toys in the living room. Sig joined them a few minutes later, as Ed patiently rolled a small ball to the baby who smacked it back excitedly. "I'm sorry for your loss… and never realizing before." Ed said without looking away from his son. "Is it too hard for him to be here? I mean if it is we understand."

"I think she'll be okay." Sig said as he smiled down at the baby who squealed happily as he crawled off after the ball when it rolled away.

"I never meant to cause anyone pain." Ed said sadly. "Sometimes it seems that's what I'm best at though. I just want to fix Al and give Yuery a good life."

"You will. You are determined enough." Izumi said as she joined them on the floor as Yuery came crawling back and complaining to Ed about something over by the couch. He crawled into his father's lap and was clinging to his braid. "So, how did he come about?"

"I don't like talking about it around Al because for some reason he doesn't believe me and it keeps causing fights… officially he's mine, Mustang fixed up all the paperwork and stuff. Off the record, so never repeat it?" Ed says and holds his breath until they nod in agreement, before releasing it as a long sigh. "A few months ago the military lent me out to this crazy country named England. Not sure if you're heard of it? Anyway, the wizards there are in the middle of some weird civil war. That involves prophecies and everything. Well, the prophesy said this kid had to die to beat the guy who was trying to kill them all. The guy went after him and killed his parents. I kept him, and smuggled him back out of the country. Now even though the guy that was after him is dead or whatever, and the wizards are all nutty, it's better to just keep telling everyone I messed up with some girl because these wizards STILL want him to die so their Dark Lord whatever can't come back."

"Do you plan to tell him?" Izumi asked after a moment and Ed slouched in relief that she at least seemed to believe him.

"I don't know. I mean, maybe I should but… I don't know. What if I tell him and it messes up his head, or he thinks I don't really love him, or he doesn't want me as his dad? What if they find him? If I keep it from him and he finds out later it's going to hurt him." Ed said. He hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about how to handle it, and really had no idea what to do.

"Relax, you have time to decide, he's not going to ask you any questions tomorrow." Sig said as Ed began to overthink his choices as he often did when he had no idea what to do next. Yuery apparently agreed with Sig as he squealed and smacked his shoulder.

"I'm not sure you are fully aware of what you have agreed to here," Izumi said carefully. "In the years to come, when you are facing issues with Yuery making friends or you yourself ready to settle down, there will be judgements made."

"There already are Teacher." Ed said ruefully. "Not just on Yu either, on pretty much everything I am, but Yu is worth it. I know what I agreed to. I know what people think of me. If I had any doubts Al settled that for me. But he's worth it. Better for people to think I'm the word's biggest idiot than for him to suffer. Let them judge, I'll be fine."

Izumi smiled at this response so he assumed it was the right one, or at least close enough to what she was looking for but it was also the truth. Sig though frowned and asked. "What did you mean about Alphonse?"

"Oh that. Apparently, no matter how many times I try to tell him what really happened, or invite him to do the math on the matter, Al has decided that I am lying to him about Yuery being adopted." Ed said in a sad voice as he scooped the baby up for comfort. Yuery squeaked in protest and pushed on his arms but otherwise settled into Ed's hold after a moment.

"I see." Said Sig.

"No, it doesn't make sense at all!" Ed said now irritated again about the whole thing. "I mean I know it was designed to sell the idea to most people, but the cover story shouldn't hold water with Al. We go everywhere together. In the entire time I've been in the military I've gone exactly three missions without him! One when I was twelve, one last year when Mustang went with me instead, and when I went to England. When would I have had this great affair and hide it from my brother?!"

"Then why does he think it's possible?" Izumi asked.

"He got it into his head that time I was with Mustang must have been when Yuery was made, but for that to work Yuery would have had to be early, and Mustang would have had to have been there and that's just weird. Winry believes me. You guys believe me…don't you?... but my brother refuses to believe me." Ed sighs heavily.

8:00 pm

Mustang residence

Roy had packed and was waiting for it to be time to go to the train station. He was numb but knew soon that would wear off and the pain would come. He didn't know how to handle this. Maes had been his friend since they were kids, the only thing that could be worse would be Riza. He had to find out what happened and why.

He had called Gracia after walking out of his office and taking the long way home. She had thankfully been informed by the time he called, because he had no idea how to tell her if he'd gotten to her first. Instead, when she tried to tell him and started breaking down, he had told her he knew and called her as soon as he could.

As Havoc pulled up to his place, it hit Roy that he was going to have to tell Ed and Al. He hadn't been able to bring himself to tell Ed earlier when they spoke. There was no way Ed would arrive in time for the funeral, so he told himself it was for the best that he hadn't told them.

Havoc had agreed to watch the cat, and Hawkeye was going with him, Falman and Breda would cover their paperwork for a few days. He needed to call Madame. She would help him narrow down a house to buy and find out who just completely destroyed the Hughes and himself. He started to feel it again, so he pushed it back down. He would just go see his foster mother in person after the funeral.

A few days later

Dublith

9:00am

It was during his twenty-fifth lift of Izumi's hundred-pound weight that Edward remembered he was to turn in his paperwork for his annual assessment. He had forgotten he had just promised Roy he would turn it in. Now he was going to have to cut his visit short to return to Central to take care of it… though South HQ was closer, and he could get there and back in a few hours.

He was weighing his choices against his desire to stay longer, if he went to South City he could come right back here for a bit longer before returning to Central. On the other hand, Teacher had already told them pretty much everything she could and he had been gone longer than he had intended. Eventually Ed settled on grabbing a quick trip to South City, then pick up his brother and son and head to Central to check if Hughes had found anything. Plan in place, Ed rushes off within an hour. Al, meanwhile, was now roped into chores. Izumi had taken the opportunity to take over Yuery's care and 'adopted' him as her 'grandson' gladly.

This was why no one noticed when Al disappeared while sweeping the front of the shop. No one noticed until Izumi saw the broom laying on the sidewalk that is, then she left her new grandson in the care of her husband's assistant Mason and went in search of the teen.

It was a twenty-five-minute train ride from Dublith to South City. It was a ten-minute walk to South HQ from the train station. It took exactly nine minutes to turn in his paperwork and get it approved. All in all, Edward had been away a grand total of ninety minutes. He wondered how things had gone so wrong in such a short period of time. He also wondered if it was counterproductive to punch himself in the face for thinking the 'S' would.

He had walked in without a care, happy to have his certification taken care of, even with his teacher's protests. As soon as he saw Mason's expression he knew something was wrong. "What happened?" Edward asked cautiously.

"I don't think it's anything major, but Alphonse seems to have wandered off without putting away the broom, so Izumi and Sig went looking for him."

"Al's missing? How is that no big deal?!" Edward screeched.

"Well he could have just saw a cat or something."

"I suppose. How long ago did they leave?"

"Um. I don't know exactly. Probably about fifteen or twenty minutes after you?"

"Again, you feel this is no big deal?"

"…When you put it like that, hey where are you going?" Mason said as Ed started toward the door.

"To get my brother. Watch the baby will you?"

"What about the shop?!"

"Just use the sling. I'll be right back." Ed said as he walked out. "First everyone freaks that I don't let anyone help, then they freak I let them help. Make up your damn minds. AND NO STICKY SWEETS."

"When did Edward become such a nag?" Mason asked the baby, who chewed on a finger with wide eyes for a moment before plopping the same finger in Mason's mouth. "Okay. Yeah. Babies are gross. Best of luck to your dad."

Mason waited around to hear what was happening while also attempting to run the butcher shop and care for the baby. Mason knew nothing about babies, and the rapidly fired advice of using the sling from Ed hadn't helped at all because he had no idea what that meant.

Instead he would hold the baby until someone came in, then he would set the child down in the wooden crate lined with blankets that he had set up behind the counter and would go fill the order. Eventually people started coming in just to gossip about the military led fight at The Devil's Nest bar. Mason debated closing up the shop, but didn't want to upset Izumi.

Izumi, Sig, Ed, and Al arrived just before noon, Izumi pale and Ed bleeding. Al looked rather battered and downcast. Izumi glared at the final customer before turning to Mason as she scooped the baby up out of the crate. "Why didn't you shut down the shop?"

"I didn't think I should. Edward didn't say anything about shutting down when he came by." Mason defended.

"Edward isn't in charge around here. What made you think sticking a baby in a crate was a good idea?" Izumi asked, and Al and Sig slunk out the back door through to the house.

"Well, Ed said to watch the baby. What was supposed to do with him when people needed stuff?" Mason said waiving his arms around to make his point.

"Hey don't drag me into this. I told you to use the sling. I agree he shouldn't be put down in a butchers!" Edward said as he took the baby from Izumi and headed the same way as the others.

"I don't know how to use the sling!" Mason yelled after him.

"It's not that hard." Ed said before shutting the door. Mason returned his attention to an angry Izumi.

"Shut down the shop, then come over to the house for chores…and to learn how to use a sling." Izumi said coldly. "Did you at least change him while we were gone?"

"…Into what?"

"A clean diaper. I'll assume that's a no then. If he gets a rash, I'll be sure Ed knows to blame you."

Mason set about putting everything away. The next time he saw any of them was when he passed between the shop and the house where there was a small paved area. Ed had left Al out there while he got patched up and changed, according to Al. Mason sat with him as they waited for his brother since the boy seemed shaken.

"Was Yu good for you?" Al asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Yes he was. He might need a different nickname, that one is going to be confusing later on." Mason said with a chuckle. Al laughed as well, as Ed joined them with an armload of rags and a couple of buckets.

Mason excused himself when he realized Izumi was no longer distracted by Ed's injuries and would be in search of Mason soon. Ed shrugged this off and sat down to begin the task of cleaning out his brother and distracting him. "Remember that time down near Youswell when that cart sunk you in the mud up to your hips-"

East City

Mustang-Elric Residence

9:00 pm

Since returning from Central Roy had been working non-stop to get ready for his move. He'd arrived at the office well before anyone else around four in the morning and stayed until the cleaners started around eight in the evening. He would then pick up something on the way home and share it with the cat before packing his house up.

He ended up home early tonight because his house was almost finished. Cobalt was being extra clingy, following him around the house and he felt bad about it. He hadn't been around much, and that combined with all the boxes was clearly upsetting the poor thing (that he had dubbed Brat) Soon when they moved everything would smooth out and the cat would be happy again. He assured the cat of this as it followed him upstairs while he changed.

He left the cat with a full can of fish and headed to Ed and Yuery's room to finish the last of the packing. He'd left it for last not wanting to violate Ed's privacy, but realizing that it had to be done now before the movers arrived. Apparently, Ed's repeated complaints that everyone was giving Yuery to much stuff was not completely exaggerated. Ed's clothing took up less than half a duffle. Yuery however seemed to own more than he could ever possibly use. After Roy had shifted all of the boxes to the living room, he debated what to do next.

He had originally intended to spend the next few days getting everything in order, but that was done. He had finished all of his paperwork at the office as well, and no more would be coming in thanks to it already being redirected to his replacement. His staff was prepared to move, he was fully packed now himself, and his mother had finding a new place well in hand.

He could arrive in Central early, and spend a few days looking into Hughes death again. It would be fine, Hawkeye could handle the remaining details of the transfer since he had already signed off on the whole thing. Something had happened. Something bad and it involved his boys. Ed hadn't been comfortable talking about it over the phone which meant that the boy was extra paranoid or whatever was going on involved the military. Either way he had to find out of it would drive him mad, especially since he was fairly convinced the boys were in danger as well.

Roy attempted to shake of the feelings of doom, by debating with himself if he should go to them to tell them the horrible truth but on the other hand, knowing Ed they had likely already moved on. Roy had asked Ed to meet him in Central by the first. Roy could meet him there, or he could perhaps ask Hawkeye explain, but that was the cowards way out. Roy was not a coward. He could handle this. He could sit there and look Edward straight in the eye and explain to him that Maes Hughes died digging into Ed's mess at Roy's request… he had no idea how to keep them from blaming themselves.

Once he had learned from Major Armstrong that the boys had stumbled onto something which Hughes had been investigating when he was killed, Roy had tried to avoid the simmering self-loathing. He had asked Hughes to find out what was going on. He had asked Hughes to butt in because Roy wasn't there to do it himself. He got his friend involved, and probably put the boys in greater danger than they had already placed themselves. No one had informed the boys yet. Roy knew because he had asked. They were going to leave it to him, and he was going to have to tell Ed that Hughes died and somehow convince the boy that it was not his fault. Roy himself didn't blame Ed he knew the boy well though, and knew how he would find a way to himself, he saw no connection or irony to his own self-loathing.

He had instructed his mother to find a place big enough to house the boys as well, and steadfastly ignored her comments about being a grandmother now. Of course she was a grandmother now. She had been for awhile Roy was willing to admit (but only to himself…and Riza… that the boys had wormed their way into his heart. Exhaustion was finally winning out so Roy went to go try to sleep his now customary hour and a half.


	12. Envoy From the East

Envoy From the East

Rush Valley

Garfiel's Studio

10:00 am

Edward knew this would be bad. He knew Winry would be angry. He had no choice, he needed to have the arm repaired before returning to the city. He had briefly considered alchemically repairing the damage, but the anger THAT would lead to wasn't worth it. So he put on his best sheepish smile, forced Al to carry Yuery the last block, and wondered if he should have updated his will.

Winry was livid, just as he expected. He panicked when he saw her expression and hid behind his brother, a fact that he was not terribly proud of but it was the safest place in the studio if for no other reason than WInry wouldn't risk hurting the baby. "I didn't mean to bust it up Win! They kidnapped Al, what was I supposed to do?"

Winry turned her anger toward Al and Ed felt a slight pinch of guilt, before he remembered all of the times Al threw him to the wolves. "How did you manage to get kidnapped Al?" Winry demanded, before sighing heavily and the anger seeping out of her. "No never mind. It doesn't really matter does it? You two are nothing but trouble. Come on Ed lets see the damage this time."

A short inspection of his arm later had them waiting for her to return with parts, and the boys wandering down toward a local café to grab something for Ed and Yu to eat. Ed's arm was temporarily wrapped to prevent the loss of any more parts, and he had resumed carrying his son. Al disappeared off into an alley halfway down the block and Ed sighed heavily. It better not be a stray. He didn't have time for a stray. "Did you find another cat Al? I keep telling you they are perfectly happy to be left where they are."

"No, it's a person Brother." Al said to Ed's surprise. They managed to shake the guy awake enough to get him the rest of the way to the café where Ed ordered something for him to eat as well as for himself and Yu.

A few plates of noodles later and the guy was finally coherent enough to begin talking to them. He introduced himself as Ling Yao, sixteenth prince of Xing. Ed laughed largely at this, before Ling pouted. The conversation did not improve from there. Ling explained about his quest to find the Stone, and further research Alchemy overall.

"Sorry. Can't help you." Ed says, closing off his expression as he starts to wave for the check.

"Because you don't know or because you won't say." Ling asked as two people appear behind Ed.

"Because it is evil and vile, and I want nothing to do with it. I don't know the array and if I did, I wouldn't use it." Ed said.

A pinched look of desperation appeared on Ling's face, and Ed sighed as his men moved forward. "Okay look. Can we not do this in front of my son? If you follow me back to Garfiel's I'll explain around less ears." Ed mentally patted himself on the back for his restraint. He had no doubt if not for Yuery he would have fought this guy rather than let him in on the secret.

Ling nodded to his guard, and they walked back up the block, Ed glaring at the strangers for the way they kept glancing at his son. They arrived to the Studio and made their way to the back workshop, before Fu went to be sure no one is eavesdropping and Garfiel closes up to go to lunch.

"Okay. I don't expect you to stop your quest. I just need you to understand I can't help you with it. I recently learned the final ingredient to the Stone. Human lives. A lot of human lives." Ed said, and was mildly relieved to see the brief flash of shock and disgust flash over both Ling and Lan Fan before they returned to their masks of amused indifference. If Ed hadn't spent so much time in Mustang's office he may have bought that look. "I can't. I won't help anyone make one. Ever."

"Would you be opposed to helping locate one that had already been formed?" Ling asked diplomatically, and Ed wasn't at all surprised Ling intended to carry on. He wasn't going to pass judgement on Ling for it… as long as Ling didn't try to make one. Ling hummed thoughtfully before adding "Any form of immortality would do it actually."

"Well, anything you would be likely to find on the subject would be in Central City if it's anywhere." Ed said.

"Now. About the other matter." Ling said, his expression sharpening. "What's going on with that baby?"

Ed glared as his bristled. "He's my son! Yes I know he takes after his mom. Yes I know I'm young. No I don't need any advice on how to prevent it from happening again."

"That's nice. I was referring to the soul attached to him." Ling replied.

"What?!" Ed screeched as he hugged the boy closer to him.

"I can sense it. So can Lan Fan." Ling said in the same calm voice he'd been using all along. "He has an extra soul attached to his. The connection seems fragile, but in the process of cementing itself."

Ed frowns as he thinks back to the little information he had learned when he took the baby. It must have happened the night the parents died, after all the wound had been fresh at the time, and he couldn't imagine the parents agreeing to such a thing. Still, now that was just one more thing to worry about along with his brother.

Ling watched him for a few more minutes before adding. "You didn't know did you?"

Ed shook his head, scowling. He needed to talk to Mustang about this. It had to be a magic thing, and he had no access to anything magic. That required special access even for state alchemists after all the two disciplines were not combined, ever as far as he knew. Most Alchemists didn't even know about magic. He wouldn't have known himself if not for that mission.

The conversation was ended by Winry's return, and Ed agreed to let both Winry and Ling join him on his trip to Central. Now he was anxious to get back so he could add this to his list of research options. Luckily the arm was a quick fix, and Al was sent down to the station to buy extra tickets.

Central City

Mustang-Elric House

1:00 pm

Roy had bought the house sight unseen with his foster mother's approval. She had narrowed it down, then sent him the information. He picked the one closest to HQ and big enough for all four of them. It was at least twice as big as his house in East, which was fitting. He had sold all of the furniture from his old house rather than trying to have it shipped so his mother had arranged the new house to be furnished as well as cleaned before he arrived. He had a car drop him and all of the boxes he hadn't mailed off at the new house. He was relieved to see the pile of boxes he'd sent ahead yesterday in what was meant to be his study.

The Livingroom, Dining room, and Kitchen were situated and cleaned, all that was needed was to unpack boxes into the correct areas. He took his time looking through each doorway without going in so he could assure himself all was well.

Upstairs, the rooms were similarly situated, The master bedroom was located on the left hand side of the stairs, whereas three other bedrooms were to the right. Each room was furnished for its intended occupant, though Roy quickly moved the crib out of Yuery's room into Edward's. Yuery's room could act as a playroom until Ed was ready to switch him to a nursery. Alphonse's room also included a bed, but Roy felt this was just a sign of good faith that the boy would soon be restored and need the bed.

A guest room was also found on this floor, next to the master bedroom on the left, though Roy had no idea who would be using it, unless perhaps if the boys had a guest. There were only two bathrooms, one on the main floor and one on the second, but both included a shower. The ground floor also included a laundry room, and a den which was currently empty save a note from his mother that he had not said whether to turn this into another study or living space so it was up to him.

He began moving boxes into their correct rooms right away, not wanting to slow down just yet, because once he did he knew thoughts of hunting Hughes killer would creep back in and he had to go sign a few things this afternoon before starting officially next week. After he had the boxes sorted, he began unpacking.

He started with his study, His carefully meticulous packing made unpacking unbearably easy. He simply had to load the shelves in reverse. In fifteen minutes the boxes were empty and the shelves full. Mostly full. He needed more books. The study was a good two feet longer and four feet longer than his old study which equaled out to an entire set of shelves left empty which was completely unacceptable. He frowned pointedly at this empty shelving and sat down to calculate roughly how many books he would need to fill this space.

After that he started in on the kitchen. Like the study it was bigger than the one in East City leaving extra room to be filled later. Roy was able to finish the living room rather quickly, and he was able to fill a basket with some of Yuery's toys in a corner that still left plenty of floor space. He realized as he was unloading the living room that he could probably fit the Elrics' books onto the empty shelves in his study. True that would mean ultimately sharing said study with the books but he had been letting Al use his old study for months without issue.

He then unpacked his own bedroom before unpacking the boys. He found himself once again at loose ends as he placed the final neatly folded towel in the linen closet, and debated what to do next because it was only three in the afternoon and he had assumed it would take twice as long as it had to unpack everything. It was to early to eat, and to late to go into work maybe. Possibly. Maybe not if he could remember the name of that girl Hughes mentioned hiring recently. She might know what Hughes had been working on.

This might be his last chance to look into it so freely before he officially started work. Decided, Roy went to change into his uniform and head over to the Intelligence Branch in the Court Marshal's Office. He finally remembered the girl's name was Sheska on the way over and that Ed had recommended her. Once he arrived he asked for her and explained he wanted to look into, she was more than happy to help. The problem then lied with not knowing exactly what it was Hughes was looking for, as he locked himself into file room three and sat down on the floor next to the first set of books.

9:00 am

Train bound for Central City

Edward was actively glaring at his new travel companions. Ling insisted they were friends, but Ed wasn't yet willing to use that label. So far Ling had managed to eat him out of roughly three weeks food budget. This was an impressive feat considering Ed's own appetite. He had also managed to nearly get Ed into three different fights with merchants, drawn attention of six different crowds of automail enthusiasts, had been invited to never return to two different establishments, and just now revealed that he is actually a full nine months younger than Ed.

This last one would not have been a problem had he not also been at least four inches taller than Ed…and Winry noticed it. Ed refused to think about why that fact disturbed him so much that Winry noticed, but it prompted him to demand Ling stand so they would know for certain who was taller and by how much. 4 inches. Ed was pouting.

Winry, the traitor, thought the whole thing was funny. Ed was officially NOT TALKING to her until their train arrived. This, for whatever reason, made both Winry and Al laugh and bring up several events in their childhood where Ed had the same reaction. His glare screamed that they better not be suggesting that he was immature and small. He wasn't small. He just was surrounded by giants was all.

After a few more amused chuckles , Ling asked what everyone was planning to do once they arrived. Winry and Ed both mentioned visiting the Hughes and All nodded, so Ling suggested they split up and meet somewhere for dinner. Ed reluctantly agreed, before sighing heavily as he stared out the window. "I'm going to have to call Mustang too, and find out when to expect him. I don't know if he's arranged housing yet. I don't know what to do with this guy though." Ed says and points toward Ling who simply smiles.

"We will arrange our own accommodations." Lan Fan said cooly. She still wasn't sure how she felt about the Elrics.

"Ah, Lan Fan, There's no reason to be rude to my friends. You're still my favorite, I promise." Ling said with a level of false cheer it made Ed's head hurt.

"Al, I invited Granny and Izumi up for Yuery's birthday. We need to figure out where we're putting them too." Ed said, ignoring foreigners for now.

"Roy may be able to help with that too. He said to meet him around the first right? So, he he'll be in town by the second I assume." Al said before adding thoughtfully "Perhaps the Hughes could help if we ask them?"

"Yeah. Probably." Ed said, but felt a little bad about not contacting Hughes while he was gone considering the man was helping him out; however, Hughes had insisted on helping AFTER eavesdropping AND had warned Ed off of calling in case of wiretaps.

"So, when we get to Central you go straight to Investigations to see Mr. Hughes, and find out when Mr. Mustang will be arriving in town. I can take Yuery with me and go see Mrs. Hughes. You figure out where we'll be staying and meet us there. Sound good?" Winry said as she reached for the baby. Ed sighed but handed the baby over without complaint. Roy was always saying he needed to let other people help more, and he trusted Winry just as much as he trusted Roy with his son. She was good with Yuery, and the baby liked her which pleased Ed for reasons he wasn't prepared to think about right now.

Once Yuery had settled into her arms Ed turned his attention to Ling once more. "I want to talk more on what you said about my son, but not here. Will you agree to arrange a meeting so that we can talk quietly later?"

"Of course." Ling nodded, concerned for the baby. He had never before felt a parasitic soul and wasn't sure how to help, but he would be willing to help as much as he could. He also hoped that Ed would help him in his own quest in exchange. Weren't Alchemist always on about that? Equivalent Exchange. He remembered hearing that a lot in regard to their strange magic-like abilities.


	13. Footsteps of a Comrade in Arms

Footsteps of a Comrade in Arms

Central HQ Court Marshal's Office

10:45 am

Sheska woke Mustang after someone else mentioned going into the file room, which worked out well for him as he had a meeting in a few minutes so he wandered off to the restroom to get ready as much as he could. Major Armstrong mentioned seeing the boys down south, and that they had said they would soon be headed toward Central.

Hawkeye was waiting for him outside of the bathroom, and the walked silently toward the meeting before spotting Edward near Hughes old office. "Fullmetal." Mustang said calmly.

"Hello Colonel." Edward said before saluting when he noticed the hallway was not empty.

"We have been reassigned." Mustang said, before adding quietly so that no one could hear him aside from the boys and Hawkeye. "Where's Yuery?"

"Really, when did that happen?" Ed asked, then nearly whispered. "He's with Winry, she took him over to the Hughes. She wanted to say hello before we found a hotel. Is there a reason I shouldn't already know about the move?"

"That won't be necessary. I took the liberty of moving you as you were out of town and unreachable. You'll be staying with me." Mustang said fishing through his pockets until he found a keyring. "I don't want to give anything away we can't speak here. I'll see you at home." He added quietly.

"Uh, okay. Well I'm going to just stop in with Hughes then head over." Ed said, a sense of foreboding settling on him.

"Hughes isn't here. He's retired to the country." Mustang said loudly, before dropping his voice again. "I'll explain everything later. It's complicated. Mrs Hughes will likely be able to tell you some of it. Remember what I say in the office is always double edged when others could hear."

"Okay then. That's a shame. I guess we'll just go settle in then." Edward said. Before leading his brother back out of the building.

"Why did you lie to him sir?" Hawkeye asked as they resumed walking.

"I can't have him making a scene in here. I don't want to see him break down. Not until I can be there for him." Mustang says. "Though they are headed to the Hughes he'll know before then. Hopefully he'll be okay until I can get home. It shouldn't be long, after this meeting I'm free doe the day. I'm not officially here yet after all."

Hughes Residence

11:30 am

Edward sat staring at the floor, hands clasped in front of him, Winry clung to Yuery next to him on his left and Al sat across from him next to Gracia and Elicia. "I'm sorry." Ed said quietly after a while. " I got him into this, it's my fault. I'm sorry. I should have told him to mind his own business."

"Edward, Maes never would have done that. He got involved because he cared about your safety. He died because he cared, and I won't have you blaming yourself. You can't quit now. He would make his death meaningless."

Ed felt like crying, but he couldn't. Wouldn't. He needed to be strong. For his brother and Winry and his son. Where would they be if he let himself break down?

"I don't understand. Why did Colonel Mustang lie?" Al asked quietly.

"He deflected." Ed said. "When he gave me the keys he said so quiet no one could hear that he'd explain everything later. He couldn't say things because of where we were."

"What do we do now?" Winry asked quietly. "I mean is there anything we can do Ms. Gracia?"

"Not now WInry. Though Perhaps you and Yuery can come by and visit Elicia tomorrow? She would like that."

"Of course." WInry said with a small smile before the teenagers stood to leave. Once they were outside on the sidewalk, Winry turned to Ed and asked again what they were doing now.

Ed shrugged and pulled out the keys before saying. "I guess we go find out where we'll be living now."

Mustang-Elric Residence

1:00pm

Mustang managed to leave the office after the meeting just had drug on longer than he would have liked. He picked up take out on the way home, and arrived half concerned that the place would be empty. Ed's boots and a pair of unfamiliar boots sat on the shoe mat in the foyer. Roy added his own before shrugging off his coat, and announcing his arrival.

Edward came out of the living room alone, shoulders slumped and looking defeated. "I hope you don't mind, I gave Win the guest room." Ed said quietly.

Roy shrugged. "It's why there is a guest room. I certainly have no use of it." He lead the way into the kitchen, and set the bags on the table. " I assume you know. I am sorry I couldn't tell you earlier, it isn't safe to talk at headquarters."

"That's what I assumed." Ed said before pulling down plates and glasses. Clearly he had explored the house when he arrived. "I told Al it was something like that anyway. So what happened? I mean I know you gotta be looking into it, and Gracia didn't know much so I assume you aren't keeping her in the loop but you can't cut me out of it."

"No. You're too close to it, a target yourself likely as not. Withholding details would only put you at risk." Roy said carefully." We should only pass information here at home, and only after we are sure no one has been inside while we were gone."

"Okay." Ed said, leaving Roy to wonder when exactly the boy had become reasonable and calm. A knock on the back door… that opened into a small garden with a ten-foot-tall stone wall... surprised them both. Ed opened the door cautiously as Roy pulled out a glove and put it on. On the other side was Lan Fan.

"I apologize for the interruption." She began softly. "Master Ling has gone missing."

"Are you sure he didn't pass out in some alley to mooch food off of an unsuspecting good-natured citizen?" Ed asked with an eyeroll as he opened the door more to let her inside. Roy assumed she was a friend and lowered the glove without taking it off.

"We considered that option. Discrete questioning led us to believe he may have been arrested." Lan Fan replied to Ed's groan.

"Well, come sit down. I'll go get WInry so we can eat. Where's the old guy?" Ed said already walking out of the kitchen to Roy's amusement.

"Grandfather is exploring avenues to retrieve Master Ling." Lan Fan replied simply as she sat in the indicated seat.

Roy cleared his throat and began dishing out noodles and pork strips onto the plates. "Have you been friends with Edward long?"

"I am not friends with Edward." Lan fan said as Roy started chopping up Yuery's portion. " Master Ling is friends with Edward. They met very recently."

Edward returned with a red-eyes Winry and a grumpy looking Yuery. "I am not friends with that mooching little prince. We're acquaintances at best."

"Ed, you never want new friends." Winry said. "Ling is your friend. You need one your age."

"I have friends Winry! You're my friend. Mustang's my friend…sometimes… Havoc's my friend, Breda, Falman, Fuery, and Hawkeye too. I have lots of friends."

"I'm the only one your age that you listed."

"Yeah well, most people my age are stupid. You're the only person my age that I can have an actual conversation with and them understand what I'm saying."

"That's because you're an alchemy freak." Winry said dismissively. " Besides you were able to talk to Ling and Lan Fan."

"That's because they aren't stupid." Ed said with a frown. Roy was trying very hard at this point not to laugh as he placed a small amount of the noodle mush on the tray for Yuery to attempt to eat. "That doesn't make them my friends though. I have to know someone longer than a week to call them friend."

"Well that settles it." WInry said as she began twirling noodles onto her fork. "Ling's now your friend. It's official."

"What the hell Winry?! You can't decide things like that for me." Ed said as Winry smacked his arm and pointed to the baby.

"She can. That's what girlfriends do." Roy said with amusement, making both teen choke and grow red faced in embarrassment.

"She's not my girlfriend Roy!" Ed exclaimed once he could breathe again.

"Ah. Still the denial stage then." Roy said in return to Lan Fan's nodding.

"It's true!" AL yelled from the other room.

"You are all traitors." Ed grumbled. "Win, you and Yu are the only people left to me. The rest of them are all terrible traitorous scum."

"True." Winry said as Al yelled. "Point proven!"

"Al, if you're joining the conversation do please come in here." Roy said, before there was some crashing and clanging then Al appeared in the doorway. "What was that?"

"Sorry. I was in the middle of some research and I knocked some books over when I stood up." Al replied before sitting in the final chair at the table. "Thank you for unpacking and well packing all of our things Colonel."

"At home, please call me Roy, both of you." Roy said with a smile. "We've had this conversation Al."

"Okay, sorry sir. I mean Roy." Al said, before turning his attention to his still sputtering brother. "You should take Winry to dinner tomorrow. Then she'll be your girlfriend."

"Excuse me, but you don't just get to decide that stuff." WInry said angrily mostly out of embarrassment.

"Why not if you get to just decide my friends? Is there some cap on social lives crap or what?" Ed said before mentally reviewing what he had just said and somehow turned a darker shade of red. "I mean, that is, shut up!"

At this point a highly amused Lan Fan excused herself, and WInry offered to bathe the baby, leaving the boys with the clean up. Ed started gathering plates, and Al started washing the table as Roy put away the leftovers. "Hughes was looking into those people from Lab 5, as far as I can gather. I am not sure at this point how far he got into it, but he was clearly onto something because they decided to silence him. He called me the night he died, but was already gone when I picked up."

"I'm sorry. We never should have let him help us." Ed said with his head lowered, as he scraped the plates into the trash.

" Nonsense. He would have anyway. I asked him to keep an eye on you boys while you were here." Roy said just as quietly. "Even if I hadn't the man was annoyingly nosey. I should know."

Ed sniffled before squaring his shoulders and turning on the water. He refused to cry. He didn't deserve to cry after throwing people in danger like he had. For all he knew his son was at risk as well. Roy put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He had learned over the last few months that Ed was not going to let himself feel any of this until Al was out of range. He refused to show any weakness around his little brother or Winry, Roy assumed, and he was on the razor's edge of a breakdown. "Over the next few days or weeks, things may get messy and confusing Edward. I'm going to ask you now to trust me because I may not be able to tell you everything that's going on in real time but I promise to fill in any gaps as soon as I can."

"Okay Roy." Ed said because he did trust him. He trusted Roy so much it kind of scared him because Roy was almost like a dad to him now, and the last time he had a dad the man had betrayed his trust so badly that Ed had never really recovered. He knew he had never recovered, that didn't change it.

Ed excused himself to go help Winry with the baby, leaving Roy with the other heartbroken boy to deal with. He turned his attention to Al as soon as Ed left the room. "How are you holding up?"

"If…If this is the price to getting back to normal…I don't want it." AL said after a few minutes. "I don't want people to get hurt or die for me. I don't want to cause more pain."

"None of this is your fault Al. Neither of you." Roy said as he patted the boy's arm. He knew Al couldn't feel it but hoped it would comfort him anyway. It seemed to work. "Hughes wouldn't blame either of you either."

"When Brother was in the hospital after Lab 5 I was terrible to him." Al said with a sigh. " I let this guy get to me, made me believe that I wasn't real, that I was just something Ed made up. He was recovering from all these injuries, and he still took the time to worry about me. Just like after Scar, he was more worried about me than himself. Even now with this. He's worried about me, and Win, and Yu. He never worries about himself so someone needs to worry for him."

" I agree and I do worry about him all the time. I just want you both to be whole and happy." Roy said concern lacing his voice. "Can you tell me what you know about Lab 5? I'll ask Ed too, but perhaps it's better to start with you this time."

"Oh,, I thought. I mean Mr. Hughes said he'd take care of it. We went to look into Lab 5, and there were these people like me guarding it and one of them fought Brother and he ended up kinda hurt, so he was in the hospital for a bit, Gracia even watched the baby for him." Al said. "Anyway I thought you knew, so yeah Brother was in the hospital recovering and he still managed to worry about me and I threw the theory in his face as a truth. He walked out on me and Winry beat sense into me."

Mustang-Elric Residence

7:00 am

Roy had planned on going into work today to look into some stuff again. He had had a bad night, between his own nightmare, and the tears of the two teens pretending to be fine. He had been up for hours, listening to Edward and Ms. Rockbelle, wanting nothing more than to comfort them both. Ed had disappeared with Winry yesterday by the time Roy had finished talking to AL and he hadn't seen either of them since, though he heard them. He waited until Yuery's normal wake up time before leaving his room, to allow the children their privacy while comforting each other.

He arrived as usual to collect the baby and get him ready for the day, only to find both Edward and Yuery gone from the bedroom. Roy frowned; this was not part of their morning routine. Roy thrived on routine. It was how he kept himself sane when the rest of the world was falling apart.

Downstairs Ed was staring blankly into the fridge when Roy arrived in the room. "We need groceries." Ed said as he closed the fridge and dug a carton of oatmeal out of the cabinet. "We're nearly out of everything. I'll make a list and send Al later."

"I could take care of it on the way home." Roy said, sounding tired. "Just throw together a list while I get ready for work."

"No its fine. We can take care of it. There's no point in making you take care of it after work when we'll be here all day doing pretty much nothing."

"Is there anything here for lunch?"

"Hell, after this oatmeal there's nothing for breakfast let alone any other meal" Ed sat as he dumped oats into the boiling water and began to stir.

"That's not enough really. I'll grab something on the way into work. I guess it would be better to send Alphonse to pick up a few things. Here let me get you some money. "Roy said as he started to leave the room.

"You know I make a decent salary, right?" Ed called after him. " I mean you signed off on my payrate and on all my expense reports. I'm not exactly broke, and thanks to you moving us in with you I don't have any expenses. Don't think I haven't noticed how Yuery's stuff magically renews itself. I can afford to buy the food this time."

"I'm the adult here Edward, and it's my house. It's my job to provide for it."

"I need to help out too! I'm not a charity case here Roy. I can't keep letting you take care of us, besides you said this was our house, not just yours. Were you humoring me?"

"Of course this is your home! How can you question that! It's my job to take care of you boys, whether it's official or not you're my sons!" Roy yelled before realizing what he had just said.

Roy had decided that he couldn't tell Edward how he felt about them after everything Ed had been through with his father there was no way the boy would want a new one, and mentioning the idea was likely to drive the boy away. He paled at the idea and watched Ed carefully, ready to apologize should the boy look like he was going to bolt.

Ed looked shocked, as if he didn't believe he understood what he had just heard. For his part, Ed had begun to think of Roy as his dad a few months ago but much like Roy was worried the sentiment would not be appreciated and resigned himself to accepting Roy's affection for Yuery was enough. To learn that Roy may care about him as well kind of floored him. "I- I'm… Well. You're our Dad and no take backs!" Ed said before turning bright red and rushing out of the room.

Roy sagged with relief, before Yuery reminded him that Ed had been in the middle of preparing breakfast and the baby did not want to wait. Roy walked over to the counter to finish preparing the oatmeal, when he overheard the boys talking loudly but couldn't make out what they were saying.

Al meanwhile, had noticed his brother rush by in a flustered state and caught him to demand what was wrong. Ed had then sat down next to Al, and it occurred to him that Al may not be as pleased as Ed. For some reason Al still had faith in That Man. With a sigh he said. "Okay. Don't get mad."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing bad! Roy and I were arguing over bills and I was trying to tell him I could pay some-"

"Oh brother-"

"Just let me finish. Okay so, we were arguing over the bills and Roy said this was his house. I said I thought this was our house. Roy said of course this is our house, but you're my sons… and I said well you're our dad then no take backs. I ran before he could take it back."

"Brother… I'm glad Roy loves us and all, but what about Dad?"

"What about him?! He never comes around, he left us all alone. I'm not throwing away someone who WANTS to be in my life for somebody who may someday change his mind. Yuery deserves better than that."

"I know…it's just. Do you think it would hurt Dad's feelings?"

"Well… no I think it's like Yuery. Okay. Because Winry loves LOVES loves Yuery just like a mom. But his mom loved him. So then he had two good moms right? So we have a new dad that loves us, but if HE decided he wanted to be part of your life, then you would just have two dads,see?"

"I guess. What about you though?"

"What about me? I'm a mess Al. I'm just glad Roy wants to be my dad. Besides I know you don't want to hear this but he left. He didn't want me and he left. He doesn't get to just come back now that I don't need him anymore."

Al didn't want to fight with Ed over it. He didn't agree about how Ed was toward their dad, but what Ed had said about having more than one made sense. It was kind of nice to have a grown up who cared that much. Then he said. "Hey, if Roy's your dad now, that makes him Yuery's grandfather doesn't it?"

"Oh. I guess it does. Hey, Yuery has a grandfather! Yuery! I left him." Ed said as he rushed back to the kitchen feeling guilty over his sudden abandonment of his baby. Yuery was unaware of his father's mistake, happily eating for Roy who generally fed him breakfast when they were all home anyway. "Okay, so now that we agree you are my dad, Yuery gets to call you Grandpa."

Roy dropped the spoon. He quickly picked it up and replaced it before continuing the feeding as he said. "No. Not Grandpa. I haven't even had a chance to be dad. No. Lets see… we can find a more suitable name for me."

"Either way you are his grandpa." Ed dismissed with a shrug.

"I'm too young to be a grandpa! I'm only 29 Ed." Roy groaned.

"So. You're 14 when I was born. I was 14 when he was born. We are just young. Hell we do everything else young as it is! I'm the youngest state alchemist in history. You were until I came along. I've been raising my brother since I was five! Age means nothing." Ed dismissed.

"We will still find a better name for me." Roy said. "We should probably avoid you calling me dad until we fix all this anyway."

"Probably. At least outside the house. Dad."

Roy found he rather enjoyed the title, much to his surprise. Hughes had been right all along. Dammit. He could just hear his best friend laughing at him from the grave. Meanwhile, he'd ask Madame for some suitable suggestions, he needed to check in with her soon anyway.


	14. Happy Birthday, Yuery Elric

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Fullmetal." Roy said trying to get the boy's attention.
> 
> "Yes?" Ed replied innocently, like he wasn't just intentionally annoying Roy.
> 
> "Are you done?" Roy asked at the end of his rope.
> 
> "I think so, what was it?"
> 
> "What was what?"
> 
> "The nickname you got off of your aunt."
> 
> "…"

Happy Birthday, Yuery Elric

August 2nd

.

11:00am

They were busy trying to get everything ready for the party, when Roy brought back up the subject of his name. "So Madame suggested a name for Yuery to call me, should he feel the need to label me his grandfather…though I am still happy to simply be Roy like I am with Elicia."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Ed asked

"Well…you see." Roy said, now feeling the best solution is background. "My Mother's parents came from western Xing. About as far from where the Yao and Chang clans came from and still be in Xing."

"I knew it! You are Xingese." Ed said in triumph. "Al owes me!"

"You bet on my heritage?" Roy said, temporarily distracted and a bit confused by this piece of information. When exactly had the boys made this bet?

"meh. We bet on everything. Al said that just because you had some Xingese features didn't mean you descended from Xing. I said it was obvious that you were."

" Three Quarters. Anyway. As I was trying to say-" Roy provided before trying to redirect the conversation.

"I need to tell Al so he can appreciate that I was right once again."

"Edward" Exasperation clear in his voice, as he tried to get the boy's attention.

"I found out recently that we are part Xersian. That Man's people came from Xerxes. It was mentioned in one of his journals."

"Well that explains your coloring, anyway as I was trying to say-"

"I guess it does now that you pointed it out, no one else around really has this hair and eye color do they? I mean there are tons of blond people, but not really this color."

"Fullmetal." Roy said trying to get the boy's attention.

"Yes?" Ed replied innocently, like he wasn't just intentionally annoying Roy.

"Are you done?" Roy asked at the end of his rope.

"I think so, what was it?"

"What was what?"

"The nickname you got off of your aunt."

"…" Roy tried to remember what had started this strange conversation. Sometime in the last few moments it had finally sunk in that these boys were related to a dead people. How was that possible? That question was going to have to wait but it somehow felt important.

"You forgot what we were talking about didn't you?" Ed asked as the silence stretched.

"Well, if you weren't always interrupting. Just because we aren't in the office doesn't mean you can do whatever you want. You still need to have manners."

"Oh great, I agree you're like a dad and all of a sudden I'm getting Dad lectures as well as Colonel lectures. Someone save me."

"Edward… okay, anyway. Out West the primary name for Grandfather is Yeye." Roy said when he finally remembered what they had originally been talking about and reached toward Yuery. Yuery giggled and bounced up and down but didn't move to reach for Roy.

"Yeye Roy?" Ed said in confusion, it didn't sound like a real name to him at first, like perhaps he had misheard, but he also wanted to simply try it out.

"Yes?" Roy responded as if Ed had been addressing him instead of questioning him.

"Okay then. It sounds like he's talking back but at the same time he's being respectful. I like it." Ed said

"I thought you would." Roy said with a smirk.

1:00 pm

Mustang residence

Roy had arranged for Havoc to pick up their guests from the train station when Ed informed him that he had invited the Curtis and Pinako to join them in celebration of Yuery's birthday. Ed didn't feel much like celebrating after the last few days, but he insisted it would be fine and that Yuery deserved the party. Roy hadn't expected to be welcomed freely by the rest of Ed's makeshift family, but open hostility was unexpected.

Winry and Pinako already knew Roy and were familiar enough with both him and Gracia that he could almost ignore the glares Izumi was directing at him. He decided however, that he needed to address the elephant in the room before it had a chance to ruin his grandson's birthday. With this in mind, he squared his shoulders and walked over to the couple. "Welcome to my home Mr. Curtis. Mrs. Curtis. I am thankful you were able to come."

"Are you the one who recruited Edward?" Izumi asked instead of addressing his greeting. He winced before nodding. "So, you're the one who filled his head with these idiotic ideas!"

"I beg your pardon ma'am, but I didn't fill his head with anything, his head was quite full when I found him. Perhaps his tutelage was lacking?" Roy said smoothly with such an air of innocence that he seemed both sincere and that he had no idea that he just insulted the woman in front of him. Not that she seemed to have any problem insulting him, so he wasn't too worried about it. As expected, she bristled at the implication but Winry stepped in before it could go any further to greet Izumi with Yuery on her hip.

"Well hello there Yuery, my how you've grown." Izumi said as she smiled down at the baby. Yuery chewed on his fist in response before turning his wide green eyes toward Roy and reaching for him. Roy smiled down at the baby and Winry handed him over a bit grateful to relieved of the weight. Izumi gave a deep sigh before she said. "He seems comfortable with you at least."

"He should." Winry said, defending Roy. "Mister Mustang takes good care of Edward, Alphonse, and Yuery. He's always worried about them, and he helps with the baby, and he even moved them in with him even though he didn't need to and he's basically Yuery's grandfather."

"Yeye." Roy said before he could stop himself.

"What?" Winry asked, confused.

"I'm his Yeye." Roy said. "It's been decided."

"Where in the world did you get that?" Izumi asked.

"My mother." Roy said smoothly. "It's what my people call grandfathers."

"I see." Said Izumi, tone still full of scorn. Roy was greatly relieved to see Hawkeye arrive with Havoc and Hayate in tow. Breda, Fuery, and Falman were close behind, along with Armstrong and two soldiers he wasn't familiar with, but Edward seemed to know judging by his waive as he reentered the room.

Edward made his way over to where Roy was greeting guests with Yuery on his hip. Ed reached for Yuery as soon as he was close enough but Yuery ignored the gesture, turning away from his father with a grunt. Lan Fan and Fu appeared in the kitchen doorway before anyone could comment and Roy muttered. "When did they get here?"

"I donno. They weren't in the kitchen when I left, so…hey Lan Fan! Use the front door like a normal person" Ed said as he walked away back toward their foreign guests.

"Yeye abba Dada." Yuery said with a serious expression as he patted Roy's cheek and looked in Ed's direction.

"Yes of course." Roy said in response. He had no idea what abba meant but he assumed it meant something along the lines of wanting his father since he had mentioned dada and was looking toward Ed. It could just as easily mean that his father was strange however considering that Edward was currently arguing with the strange ninja girl judging by the waiving of his arms and red face and the loud whispers.

Izumi walked back up to him before he could move out of the entryway, trapping him in between herself and the front door. She was just as angry looking as she had been a few minutes ago but judging on Ed's stories about his training that may just be her default expression. She narrowed her eyes and he was forced to accept that she simply hated him. "I know all about you Roy Mustang. I looked into you after the boys came to see me. I don't know why those boys trust you so much, but I don't."

"I can understand your distrust. I am hardly my own first choice when it comes to role models, but I love these children and would do anything and everything to protect them. I already have." Roy said calmly and quietly, ignoring the way Edward was frowning in their direction as if he knew his teacher was giving Roy a hard time. "I know you are aware of the nature of the boys' injuries and how they were acquired. Edward informed me that he had provided you with the truth of the matter on both accounts." Roy continued as he gestured to the baby as well. "I have taken steps to ensure that there will never be any way to prove any of it. I do not require anything in return and never have. The boys are safe from threat on these matters. Yes I recruited the boy. I gave him direction when he had all but given up, and at the same time I have shielded them to the best of my abilities from the horrors this career can provide. I am painfully aware of what this career can do to you."

"Why? Why would you drag these boys into it?" Izumi asked, not ready to admit she was impressed by his speech. "I can't believe that Edward did this, after I warned him against it!"

"It was the best way to help them." Roy said.

Izumi nodded and started to turn away before asking one final question. " Do you consider them yours?"

"I had this conversation with Edward recently. Yes, I consider Edward and Alphonse my sons, Yuery my grandson. Though I am well aware I can't legally adopt them right now, Edward would be transferred out of my command, I do consider them mine."

"Good." Izumi said with a smile that did nothing to lesson the air of threat around her. "But remember, they are mine too and they were mine first."

"Okay, well if you're posturing or whatever it's YUERY'S birthday. So can you please not threaten his Yeye at his party." Edward said startling both adults. Neither had noticed him approach before he had spoken. He frowned at them both before taking the baby from Roy's arms and said to the baby. "Don't worry Yu, we'll get Granny and Yeye to like each other eventually. Let's go find Al okay?" Before walking off without looking at them again.

Maria Ross and Denny Broch felt out of place at the party, the only people they really knew were the Elrics and Major Armstrong, so they were sticking close to the refreshment table. Roy had come over to greet them at one point, and Winry had as well, but otherwise they had found a rather good hiding place. Maria wanted to offer her condolences to the Elrics and the Widow Hughes, but it seemed out of place to do so at a child's birthday party so she held her tongue. Al came over to them and greeted them warmly, as he offered them a tour of the house. Maria quickly agreed and followed the boy away from the crowd.

A pile of gifts had appeared on a folding table Roy had set up for that purpose and Ed was doing his best to remind himself that no one was suggesting he couldn't care for his child by offering his child gifts, but rather were trying to celebrate the boy's existence. Roy and Riza had both reasoned with him on this several times over the last few months, but it was still a struggle for him. Jean, Kain, Vato and Heymens had all brought gifts that were clearly toys. Ed was okay with this, though he feared the boy would soon have more toys than he would ever play with. Riza's present was a mystery but was likely clothes or books judging by prior gifts(it was clothes). Ross and Broch had brought a joint gift, a rocking horse that was unwrapped but had a bright red ribbon tied to it. Alex's gift was like Riza's a mystery to be solved upon Yu's opening, at which point it would please Ed that someone had bought the boy books. Izumi and Sig had brought a large box which had informed him was clothing. Granny Pinako and Winry had brought him a miniature tool set (Ed intended to accidentally lose in the back of the closet having personal experience with the boy's aim).

Roy had bought the child a puppy. Ed was unimpressed even as the baby squealed. Roy assured him that he would take full responsibility of the dog's care. Ed was still unimpressed. Al was concerned about Cobalt, who as it turned out had no problem with the tiny white puppy. Roy encouraged Ed to name the puppy.

Ed suggested the very unoriginal "FluffFace." Al and Roy vetoed the name. The guests excused themselves and everyone aside from Winry and Granny Pinako left. Al suggested "Flamel". Ed and Roy vetoed. Roy suggested "Major Yip." Al and Ed vetoed.

With the as of yet to be named puppy the teens and baby retired to the back yard while Roy and Granny cleaned up after the party. Winry watched the puppy run around and the baby crawl after her. Al sits in the middle of the lawn as both baby and puppy crawl all over him. Winry and Ed sit off to the side at the small patio table. Cobalt watches from the open doorway refusing to come outside as usual.

"What kind of dog is that anyway do you think? How big is it going to get?" Ed asked as he watched them play.

"It seems like a small dog. Did you know this was what Mr Mustang was getting him?" Winry asked turning her attention to Ed.

"No I didn't. Probably thought I'd say no. Which I would have. Oh well. He told you you can call him Roy you know."

"I know. Did I hear you call him Dad at breakfast this morning?" Winry asked and ignored Ed's blush.

"Yeah you did. Al doesn't seem happy with it, but he's… well he's been more of a father to me than anyone else along the way, including That Man. Especially Him. I want him to… I haven't… I'm a Dad now myself and I have no idea what I'm doing here. Roy wants to be my father, to help be, to show me first hand how to parent. If for nothing else for Yuery I have to do this. " Ed said trying to get Winry at least to understand. He had no clue how to explain this logically which was part of the problem. "I mean, I know it's a huge risk to trust him or anyone so much but I really really want to believe I can trust him Win."

"You can Ed." Winry said as she gave his shoulder a squeeze. "I've been here watching. He loves you and Al and Yuery. He isn't going to hurt you. Not intentionally anyway."

"Him loving me is the scary part. Why? Why does he love me? Why does he want me still even after I got Hughes killed? I don't deserve him to love me. I don't-"

"Yes you do!" Winry said sounding angry. "You always do this Ed. You think you should suffer alone but we all love you, and you earned it! You ARE a good person, one of the best people I ever met and you don't even realize it. Let Roy love you, let him be your dad because you need one and he wants it to be him."

"What if he changes his mind?" Ed said in a near whisper. "What if I'm not what he wanted and he changes his mind? There's something – I don't know. Maybe- That Man left, what if theres' something wrong with me?"

"There's nothing wrong with you Edward. Nothing at all. Your father's leaving is a reflection on his own shortcomings not yours." Roy said, having overheard the tail end of the conversation he had intended to simply walk away feeling it had been private until he heard the boy say this about himself. " I am honored you are allowing me to become your father Edward, because anyone would be lucky to have a son like you." Roy stepped the rest of the way onto the patio to stand over Edward and Winry while he spoke.

"It's nice you think so Dad, but we both know I'm a screw up. I also manage to push to the point of insanity on a regular basis." Ed said.

"Of course you do, you're a teenager. It's in your nature. I meant everything I said Ed. You can't push me away and make me stop loving you, anymore than Al can. And if Al never wants to think of me as his father I can accept that as well, but I will not stop considering him my son." Roy said before surprising Ed with a hug. At first Ed stiffened, unused to being hugged by anyone aside from his brother or Yuery, but he melts into the sensation after a moment and finds, much to his embarrassment that just like when Teacher hugged him a couple of weeks ago, Ed had to hold back his tears."If you need to cry Ed, cry. You don't have to be strong all the time. It's okay to need help."

Al finally noticed something was wrong with his brother as he noticed Roy hugging Ed with silent tears running down both their cheeks. He wondered if they had found out something more about Mr. Hughes and started to stand, but Winry shook her head at him before slipping away from the other two and coming over to him. She sat next to Al and let the baby crawl into her lap. Al sighed waiting to see if she would explain before she said in a near whisper. "Ed was blaming himself for stuff, Mr. Roy overheard him. It's good that Mr. Roy wants to be Ed's Dad. Ed needs a Dad, he needs someone adult to help him right now."

"But… what if Our Dad comes back and his feelings are hurt because we have a new dad?" Al asked carefully, voicing his concern with accepting Roy.

"Well… I think if your Dad cares about you guys like you think he does, maybe it would be a relief for him to know that just because things went wrong doesn't mean you guys stayed all alone. I think maybe he would be happy that someone found you guys and loved you." Winry said as she smoothed down Yuery's hair, knowing already it would pop back up as soon as she moved her hand. "I think maybe…maybe I want to be his mom. He had a mom who loved him very much but she's gone, and I think she would want him to have a new mom to love him. Just because I love him doesn't mean she didn't I wouldn't make her not exist. Do you see what I mean?"

"Well, I think if you want to be his mom, maybe you should start by going out on a date with his dad." Al said in a teasing tone before laughing at her sputter. That settled it for him. She reacted just like Brother, they belonged together, and he would find a way to make it happen. He also thought that maybe she was right and his dad would be okay with him having a second father. But to be safe he wasn't calling Roy Dad. Even if he thought it.

7:00 pm

After dinner Roy asked if Ed would join him in the study to talk about their return to work the next morning. Winry offered to get Yuery ready for bed before Roy and Ed disappeared into the study for their conversation.

"When you come in tomorrow, I think you should leave Yuery and Alphonse here at home." Roy started as soon as they sat down. "I think it would be best if we kept the two of them as far from command as possible until we know who we can trust."

"Yeah probably. I don't go out of my way to get Yuery noticed as it is, and well I've spent years getting people to look at me instead of Al." Ed said with a frown. "It's probably better to just keep them both away."

"Ah, so that explains a few things." Roy said out loud without thinking.

"Explains what?" Ed asked.

"Why it was I met a silent boy in Resembool. Why that same boy was quiet but polite the second time I met him in Central. Yet the boy who appeared in my office was loud and rambunctious as soon as his brother appeared by his side." Roy said. "I assumed it was something along those lines but I often wonder which boy is the real one."

"They both are. Does it bother you? I mean." Ed said

"Not at all, it concerns me at times you try so hard to take care of everybody around you but yourself. Hawkeye said more than once over the years you remind her of me." Roy said.

"Anyway!" Ed said blushing. "I don't think I should call you Dad around the office, or say anything about living here. I'm not embarrassed by it, but we don't want anyone digging around here."

"I agree, I was searching for a way to word the request to not sound like an attempted rejection."

"Well we're on the same page. So nothing personal gets into the office. Done."

"I'm going to instruct the team not to ask after the baby or your brother. We should arrive separately as well, at least most days. I can arrange for Havoc to pick you up and Hawkeye will be driving me."

"Okay, that works. I might have him drop me a few blocks from the office and walk in since that's how I usually do it out East."

"Edward, the other thing I need to talk to you about is that much like our personal lives, I will not be able to explain everything to you while we are at work about what is going on in the office. As I said the other day. Sometimes I'm going to have to ask you to trust me and I will explain as soon as I can. Whatever you overhear, please promise you will give me a chance before passing judgement."

"Are you saying you're going back to pretending to be a manwhoring uncaring bastard?"

"Yes I… when did you realize it was an act?"

"Apparently sooner than you realized I was if that took until tonight. Honestly? Probably by the time I was thirteen or fourteen. Then I knew for sure when I got Yuery." Ed said. "I promise I'll give you a chance to explain. But I can't promise I won't react to it, that would look as suspicious as even you suddenly changed."

"Very well. You can go, have a good night." Roy said then smirked as Ed stood to leave. "Oh and Edward, good luck with Ms. Rockbelle."

Ed sputtered and denied but left red-faced when he realized both Roy and Al knew he intended to ask her out soon. Maybe he should tonight. He had planned to never even think about it until he fixed his brother, but she was so good with his son it was hard not to think of a future involving her.

Edward had found Winry and Yuery in his room where she had bathed the baby and was rubbing lotion on his arms before she finished dressing him. Ed watched for a few minutes in the doorway before venturing in. He felt like an intruder to his own room with his own child. It was strange to him, but he shrugged it off to ask if she was okay. Winry smiled brightly and said she was fine.

Ed took over getting the baby as he explained the plan to keep everything going on inside the house private until they knew who to trust as he attempted to button his son's was refusing to be ignored however and quickly climbed into Winry's lap to pat her arm as soon as his father's hands moved.

Both of them smiled down at the baby while Ed mentally fished around in search of a happier subject. He finally settled on one provided he doesn't die of embarrassment. "So, I think maybe we should go out to dinner tomorrow. It doesn't have to be the date they suggested, but they probably would agree to babysit."

"Sounds good to me." Winry replied, perking up a little. "But it could be a date if you'd like.

"Only if you would." Ed replied before Winry nodded and disappeared, so that Ed could try to get the baby to bed. Ed immediately began to internally panic. Did that mean yes? Was that a no? What was happening?!


	15. Cold Flame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was floored. This woman had been at his house just yesterday. He had a hard time believing this woman had managed to act so well as to fool him, who had long mastered reading people. He was hurt and angry that she could pleasantly smile at Edward and Yuery, that she could offer condolences to Gracia, and be the one that did this.

Cold Flame

Mustang's Office

9:00 am

Hawkeye had picked up Mustang as planned and they arrived at least thirty minutes before anyone else in the office which was not ideal in Mustang's opinion because between the stress of planning for an unknown threat and a cranky baby he hadn't gotten much sleep. Riza did not seem very sympathetic either.

She, and the rest of the team, had started Friday to have the office up and running when Roy arrived Monday. She had also had a long weekend, not because of a child but because of paperwork. She had attended Yuery's birthday party and had been the first to hear from Mustang that they were not to mention the child near HQ. She had spread word to the rest of the team and assumed Roy would talk to Edward about it.

Once she had brought Roy some coffee and reminded him, he needed to be on good behavior, she went to check the inboxes. Just before Edward was to arrive Hawkeye slipped into his office. Hawkeye informed him of the 'evidence' against Maria Ross.

He was floored. This woman had been at his house just yesterday. He had a hard time believing this woman had managed to act so well as to fool him, who had long mastered reading people. He was hurt and angry that she could pleasantly smile at Edward and Yuery, that she could offer condolences to Gracia, and be the one that did this.

The first step was to get her out of the hands of the enemy, then he could interview her himself before passing judgement. He debated briefly, but like the Hughes thing, he decided not to talk to Ed about it in the office. He highly suspected they were bugged.

Instead, when Ed arrived Mustang put him to work on typing up the Scar Incident, then released him for the day. Once Ed was out of the way, and Mustang had received an unexpected call, the planning began. This was going to be delicate, and hopefully everything would run smoothly. This could be the key to everything or get them all killed, depending on how it played out.

While Edward was busy typing away, a call came in from the still missing Falman and Mustang excused himself to call him back, taking Breda with him. If Ed had noticed anything strange about this he didn't say anything. Of course, when they had caught each other up Roy had explained what was going on with Falman and Ed had explained what he had learned of the stones, so at this point neither of them seemed to think anything could surprise them anymore.

Mustang returned from his phone call alone and suggested that Ed may want to go ahead and head over to the library. The last thing the plan needed was for Ed to get word that his friend had been arrested. He would either try to defend her honor, or he would blame himself for not seeing what she was capable of. Either way it would impede the plan that had to move very quickly if it had any chance of working.

With Edward safely tucked away in the stacks it was unlikely he would hear anything amiss even if someone mentioned it within ten feet of him. Mustang then returned to his regular paperwork, he needed to appear as if he had heard nothing yet himself. The last thing he needed was for someone to realize he had been involved in what was about to unfold.

7:00 pm

Mustang Residence

5:00 pm to 7:00pm

Roy called on his lunch break after debating with himself if he should say anything at all. He wanted above all to avoid having the boys interfere with tonight's already shaky plan. He informed Alphonse that he had to work late and not to bother saving him dinner. Roy hesitated for a moment before asking Al to remind Ed about their conversation about trust. That sometimes Roy couldn't explain until later, but he would always explain. Al promised to pass the message on. Then half past five Edward had picked up Winry for their dinner that may or may not be a date. Al made sure to pass on Roy's message, and fret over watching his nephew alone.

Al tried really hard not to be nervous as Ed and Winry left to go out to their maybe-date. The plans had been made with the idea that Roy would be there, and ed had offered to reschedule but Ed deserved a chance to get out once in a while and that the plan had already been set and that perhaps both Winry and Ed may stop being so sad for a while.

That did not make his nephew less scary. The one year old infant was now very active, crawling about at a speed that frightened Al for his safety. All he had to do though was feed Yuery the dinner Winry had already prepared for him, then wipe his face and hands, and put him to bed in his crib.

Yuery liked Al, he knew that Yuery liked him. Yuery also liked chewing on his fingers. Al worried Yuery would hurt himself doing this, but Ed insisted it was fine and that Yuery liked chewing on Ed's hand too. What if though, what if he hurt the baby? He should be over this. He'd spent months getting over this. He'd never been all alone with the baby before.

It wasn't that scary, and Roy had assured him that Gracia would be happy to come over if he was overwhelmed, as would the lady that Roy knew. He had left a number. Al was determined to do this himself though because it was the least he could do to make up for his earlier behavior… even if holding the baby still made him nervous. He was also fairly certain Cobalt was laughing at him. So was the new puppy, who Al had taken to calling Buddy.

Rob's Diner

5:45 pm to 6:45 pm

Ed was still uncertain if this was a date or not, and decided not to worry about it. He would treat Winry the same as he always had and if that was wrong she would tell him. He knew nothing about dating after all, he was busy. He had stuff. He was making excuses because for reasons beyond his understanding he was nervous.

His nerves lasted only as long as it took to order. The conversation that followed was no different than their normal ones which helped him to relax. She wasn't going to suddenly turn into some stranger just because this was a maybe-date. They had both ordered the stew, and were happy with the result, which they agreed on loudly, before moving on to talking about what Winry wanted to buy when she went shopping tomorrow, which turned out to be a couple of new wrenches.

They had a pleasant evening and had just finished their pie when Ed overheard some men talking about the arrest of Maria Ross. He paid the bill and escorted Winry home quickly, but Mustang wasn't there yet. He asked them to keep an eye on Yuery for him and said he needed to talk to Roy before leaving again.

Central Command

6:55pm

Word went out that there had been a prison break, and Mustang was called in to help look for the woman that had supposedly killed his best friend. He had carefully planned this down to the last detail because anything going wrong would put them all in danger.

He draped his coat over his shoulders and placed his gloves in his pocket before making his way to the warren like alley network. So far everything had gone to plan, and he fully expected to be home to explain the whole thing before the boys got wind of the situation and it managed to escape. He was fairly certain he could make it home before the news printed.

Maria Ross arrived as planned. He had the switch done and tags attached just as Edward arrived. This was an unexpected complication. He couldn't explain in time, and Ed was hysterical. Ed grabbed his lapels and was screaming about the girl being innocent, but Roy could hear the MPs coming. He gritted his teeth as he slapped the boy, which was the last thing he wanted to do. "You forget yourself Fullmetal. How would it look attacking your superior officer?" He said.

"Why should I care how things look, Mustang?!" Ed growled.

This was his last chance to lay the groundwork for the truth. " You know better than most that truth and appearance can be to different things. Remember Edward the message I left you." Ed still looked livid, which was good. He seemed to be thinking about what Mustang had just said though, which was the best he could hope for as others began to arrive.

Mustang walked away to begin answering questions, but kept one eye on Ed the whole time. He couldn't afford for Ed to grab his family and take off at this point. Ed needed to know the truth before making a choice.

This could ruin everything. The day after Roy assured Ed that he was never going to let them down he did just that because he hadn't had time to explain. He wasn't sure explaining was going to help either because this was a mess no matter how it turned out, but until he talked to the woman he wasn't certain how that would end up.

If only he's had more time. More time to plan, to explain. He should have found a way to secure that the boys stayed safely out of the way until he could explain what had happened. He didn't even have time to go home with Ed and explain tonight. They had to be sure everything was taken care of before morning or this whole thing would be pointless, and likely to get at least Roy if not all of them killed.

It didn't make it any easier to see the look of hatred and betrayal in his son's eyes. It didn't help his fear that he would come home to an empty house, when all he wanted to do was gather his children to him and keep them safe, he instead had pushed his boy away. He had slapped him! What kind of father hits their child?

Soon enough they were bundled into the back of an MP vehicle to be escorted to the corner's office. It would be over soon enough one way or the other. He just hoped his son could and would forgive him for causing this pain. He wasn't sure when exactly they grew to take over his life completely, but they had. To keep them safe he would give up everything he was, everything he built, everything he's worked for. If that's what it took he would take his sons and grandson and run from it all. The thought terrified him, not just that he was willing to do so without second thought and that such measures may become necessary.

Medical Examiner's Office

10:00pm

Major Armstrong met Mustang and Edward at the coroner's office as they waited for the exam to be completed. Armstrong was weeping openly as he apologized for the behavior of his subordinate and mourned her loss at equal intervals.

Edward was completely silent. He sat in a hard plastic chair and ignored them all as he considered what he had learned from the only newspaper who had ever bothered to carry anything about Maria Ross. According to the paper they had physical evidence." What did they have on her anyway? It says that they had evidence." Ed asked, before Armstrong cleared his watery throat and wiped an eye.

"We don't want to say anything loudly in public We can talk about it later if you are still up." Roy said smoothly in the tone that had always managed to make Ed want to hit him.

"In other word, you don't know." Ed sneered before returning his attention to the paper. Roy wanted to say more but he couldn't. When Ed shifted, the bruise on his jaw became visible adding another twist of guilt to the ever growing pile. Before Roy could think of anything to say Dr. Knox came through the door.

Roy managed not to wince as Knox spoke, he certainly laid it on thick, but then his distain for Roy and everyone else in the military was real enough. After his scathing commentary Knox disappeared once more and Edward looked angrier if that was possible. This couldn't happen.

Before Edward could say anything, Mustang grabbed his shoulder and told him he would give him a ride home. Ed shrugged off his hand, but followed him, if for no other reason because the others were still at the house.

Roy paused just long enough to suggest Armstrong looked like he needed a vacation and perhaps he should try to arrange a trip out East with Lt. Hawkeye. Armstrong nodded, at least he got the secret message. Roy wondered if Ed had.

Ed had been thinking since the alley. He wanted to believe that somehow Mustang was trying to tell him that what he had seen in the alley wasn't real, but the doctor had agreed it was. Was it possible that Ross really was guilty? Was that what Roy had been trying to say? Even if she was, that wasn't an excuse for burning her alive! Ed had no idea what was going to happen, he was very worried.

They got in the car, before Roy sighed heavily. Hawkeye was driving and nodded. "I intended to speak to you when arrived home tonight. When the report came in that Maria Ross was a suspect in the Maes Hughes case, of course I was interested. It wasn't adding up. There was to be no trial, her execution was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Her escape was arranged, and I met her in the alley to ask her about her involvement. Tomorrow morning Major Armstrong will be escorting you out east for automail repairs. All the answers you require will be answered when you arrive. Until then I ask you refrain from mentioning any of this to the others, and that you not make any rash choices."

"Alright. I want the truth. If I don't like it, I will take my son, my brother, and we will go so far away you'll never find us." Ed said even while hoping that what Mustang was hinting at was what it sounded like he was hinting at because the idea of losing another father just as he gained one broke his heart. He would be sure to ask Winry to stay with his son though, he wanted to believe the people he could trust could still be trusted but the world liked to slam him on his ass, so he would hedge his bets on that one.

August 7th

Xerxes Ruins

3:00pm

Edward was miserable in the reflected heat that his arm and leg insisted on absorbing even under the cloak. Traveling through the desert with automail was an exercise in stupidity, as Ed well knew but he hadn't been given a lot of choice in the matter.

Once they arrived at the ruins, he fled to the water sitting in the shade fed by an underground spring. The horses drank from this fountain even as he sunk in up to his nose and he couldn't bring himself to care. The hot metal cooled as the water hissed with steam, and Ed finally felt like he might survive after all, which was good because he just remembered that he had not yet written a will. That was very shortsighted of him considering his career actually. As soon as he got back to civilization, he would have to fix that.

Once he felt human again, mostly, he climbed out of the water with as much dignity as he could muster and wrung out his shirt. Breda and their guide were staring at him strangely so he said simply. "Automail is metal it conducts temperatures of the environment. The heat was being directed into my chest cavity, I had to lower the temperature before I overheated and suffered a heat stroke or worse."

"I apologize Edward, I had no idea." Major Armstrong said appearing close to tears. Ed was quick to assure him it was fine before he could start crying or hugging.

Before the conversation could grow more awkward Fu appeared followed by Maria Ross. Edward had never been more relieved to see someone. His faith in the colonel wasn't misplaced after all. They all sat in the shade to explain what happened and how the colonel had managed to pull it all off.

Mustang's Office

3:00pm

For all the world Lt Hawkeye appeared completely livid as she summited her leave request, which Mustang approved without fanfare before she stormed out of the office. Over the last few days the office staff had slowly been replaced with men Mustang was unfamiliar with as his own trusted team dropped one by one. Hawkeye had been the last hold out.

Falman had been on sick leave since the day after they had arrived in the city. Havoc and Fuery were on lone back East and not due back for at least another week. Breda's sister had suddenly become extremely ill down south and needed him badly. Elric had needed automail repairs. Now Hawkeye felt the need to use some of her long-awaited vacation time. At least that is what the paper trail said happened, as what the current office staff could attest to should they be asked.

As of now they were all busy being amused by the Colonel taking personal calls in the middle of the day while ignoring his ever-growing stack of paperwork. Apparently, this Elizabeth was far mor important to him. It as like the only reason he did anything at all was because Hawkeye threatened him.

The new staff found this both amusing and distracting, even going as far as referring to Hawkeye as his nanny. Mustang appeared to nothing of this gossiping and rumors. He just sat at his desk badmouthing Hawkeye and making suggestions on vacation spots.

Mustang-Elric Residence

3:00pm

Winry was bathing an incredibly angry Yuery in the kitchen sink when a knock came at the back door. Winry almost missed the sound over the baby's cry. Al, on the other hand did hear it, and was quick to shove the towel at Winry and rush her out of the room with a sopping sniffling baby.

Lan Fan and Ling were casually standing on the patio as if they hadn't just jumped across several rooftops and ten-foot-tall stone fences to knock. Al was kind of grateful they bothered with the formality since obviously they could have just come in one of the windows.

When there was no sounds of fighting Winry snuck back in the room with a Yuery on her left hi and a wrench in her right hand. This did not do anything to dissuade Ling from enthusiastically throwing his arms around her and the baby. "Yuery! Look how big you've gotten! It's been forever."

"It's been less than a week." Lan Fan said drily.

"Still. He's a baby. That's forever for a baby." Ling reasoned.

"You're scaring him." Winry said as she clutched the baby closer and half turned away from the hyper prince. This made Al snicker as it reminded him of his brother.

Ling sighed dramatically before flopping onto one of the kitchen chairs and turning his attention to Al. He quickly explained the deal he had made with the others, and asked that Al explain the process that created him. In turn, Al explained that he didn't know the process, it was Ed who had done it. Al had never tried to ask.

Xerxes Ruins

6:00 pm

After Maria and Fu had left to go toward Xing, the others decided to wait for the sun to go down before forcing Ed to brave the desert sand once more. He had then went for a walk to look through the ruins, having spotted a mural that looked like an array earlier.

It was an array, it was similar to the one he'd seen in Lab 5 but part of it was missing and it wasn't exactly the same. He groaned in frustration. Why was it always one step forward, two back? Why was there always something else standing in the way? Hadn't they paid enough, suffered enough yet?

A knife at his throat seemed to be the universe answering that question. The next few minutes were a blur as he fought his assailant, only for more to appear and surround him. The ring leader said they were going to use him as a hostage but they didn't know who he was only that he was Armestrian. He wasn't going to tip them off that he was anyone but a tourist.

Luckily enough they were then stopped by an elderly woman who introduced as Shan. They were Ishbalan. Edward had some sympathy for them though he no intention of allowing himself to be captured or killed. He had people who needed him to come home. His son was not going to be orphaned again.

Shan explained that she knew not all Amerstrians were evil, that she knew this to be fact because of the Doctors that had saved her and many others. These same doctors who had in turn been killed by one of their Ishbalan patients. A man with a wound on his head and tattoo. The Rockbelles were heroes she maintained. Ed admitted he knew the Rockbelles, that he had grown up with their daughter. He promised to visit their graves for Shan.


	16. Father Before the Grave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Eight weeks huh? I've heard that one myself. I always consider their timeframe a guideline, with a goal to cut it at least in half myself." Ed said with a smirk

Father Before the Grave

Resembool

6:00pm

Armstrong and Breda continued on to the train to return to Central however Edward was going to visit Granny for a tune up so his alibi held up considering the risks involved of being caught out. He assured the other men he would be fine on his own.

On the way to the house he stopped by the cemetery with the intent of passing on Shan's greetings as well as visiting his mother. When he arrived however, the last person he expected or wanted to see at this time was already there. Hohenheim. His father. Not that the man deserved that name.

"What do you think you are doing here?" Ed growled. "There's nothing here for you anymore."

"I saw that, what happened to my house?"

"You're house?! You have a lot of nerve. You left. You left and she died and we were all alone." Ed said. "But we don't need you now, we are fine on our own. I burned it down. I burned it to the ground to keep us from ever turning back."

"No you burned it to hide your shame."

"Whatever. You'd know all about that. Assuming you manage to feel any guilt at all for what you have done." Ed said before turning and walking out of the cemetery. He wasn't giving the man another chance to walk out on him, he was walking away first this time. "Don't follow me!"

"Well, that's going to be hard since I'm staying at Pinako's" his father said as he followed behind. "I know I hurt you Edward, but I was trying to protect you. One day when you are a father, you'll understand you have to do whatever you can to keep your family safe."

"No see that's where you're wrong. I would NEVER leave my son behind!" Ed said twirling around to punch a finger into his father's chest. "I may be FORCED on occasion to leave him with someone for a few days BUT I would never just leave him. EVER."

"That's an idealistic viewpoint of a child Edward. It is a lot more complicated once you are a parent."

Ed turned away again, refusing to allow the pain to leak into his voice. "I am not a child Hohenheim. I stopped being a child when I buried my mother." Edward continued down the road without acknowledging the man's continued presence.

When they reached the stairs Pinako was on the porch watching them. "Good Evening Edward." Pinako said as she blew smoke from her nose and set aside her pipe. "Where is your brother and Winry?"

"Hi Granny. They're back in Central. I just popped by for a quick look over before heading back that way." Ed said as he climbed the stairs.

"Really, and you couldn't have WInry look you over while she's there?" Granny asked and followed him back into the house as his father trailed behind. The boy seemed to need her attention more at the moment. "Where's the boy?"

"Bonding with Winry." Ed said. "I was semi kidnapped on a mission, and the desert didn't seem very family friendly."

"Edward Elric! You did not go out into the desert with all that steel attached to you!" Pinako said even as she began tugging on his clothing so she could get a look at his ports. He sighed but complied with stripping down to his boxers to speed up the process. "Ya gotta admit though Granny, The sand's no place to take Yu."

"Absolutely not. WInry needed time to catch up with him anyway. It's a good chance for them to bond." Granny said as she poked the reddened skin on his shoulder. "You have some slight burns here were the metal meets the skin. I'll get you some cream."

"Hurry back, I don't want to be stuck in my underwear all day. I can't stay long anyway, I need to be getting back. I can't leave until tomorrow the train's already gone. I'd like to get some rest though, don't think I've slept proper since Monday." Ed yelled after her still ignoring the other man in the room.

His father stared at the automail. Physical proof of what Pinako had told him about what his boys had done. He felt like there was more going on than she had told him though, he was missing something here, he just didn't know what.

Pinako came back a moment later and began slathering his burns in a yellow paste. "I should make you stay here until this heals, at least a week."

"No way. I have to get back as soon as possible anyway, I can't just be gone from Yu for that long without a reason. " Ed said with a frown as he attempted to cross his arms over his chest only for Granny to smack his arms away so she could keep working on him.

"You said you were on a mission, and you suffered burns. That's hardly without a reason." Pinako said dismissively. She could find nothing to worry about with the automail itself, just the skin around the ports.

"Nope, this is different I didn't get a chance to prepare him or anything, I just got drug off. He needs to see me come back as soon as possible." Ed said stubbornly.

"I'm afraid I am a bit lost." His father interrupted.

"Obviously. You stopped in the wrong town after all. This one doesn't welcome deadbeats." Ed said snappishly.

"Edward I told your father about your mother and what happened in the basement but I have told him nothing of your life after that, I felt it wasn't my place." Pinako said before gathering up her supplies and leaving the room, only to yell that she would start dinner.

"I joined the military" Ed said after a moment of silence. "That's why I don't live here anymore. I joined the state alchemist program to find a way to fix Al. I won't stop looking until I find a way to make it right. It is one of the most important promises I ever made."

"That was- Was that recently?"

"Nah. I was twelve." Ed said with a shrug as he pulled his clothes back on. "You seem to want every inch of my life which you don't deserve but whatever. Yu is the other promise I made. I promised Yu I would never leave, never just disappear."

"I'm touched Edward, though confused."

"NO. Not YOU. Yu." Ed said as if the explained everything. When his father still looked confused Ed rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yu. Yuery Alphonse Elric. My son. You see, I wasn't speaking of some hypothetical future situation, I was informing you of my already superior parenting skills."

His father sputtered for a few moments before saying "You can't have a child yet! You can't be more than thirteen yourself."

"Wow okay. First of all I'm fifteen. Second of all, I've been Al's mom, dad, and brother since I was five. Finally, screw you I take good care of my son." Ed said before storming out of the room as he yelled. "I'm not hungry Granny I'm going to bed."

Central

Mustang-Elric Residence

6:00 pm

"Are you sure you two will be okay by yourselves?" Al asked WInry as he prepared to head out, leaving her and Yuery at the mercy of their visitors. Ling had been by everyday waiting for Edward's return so he could bother him on the secret of Al's blood rune. Al was going to go see if he could figure out anything new about what was going on by talking to Barry, who Ling happily told him where to find.

Mustang wasn't home yet, but that had been normal all week. He'd barely been home since the night before Ed left. Al still wasn't sure what happened that night because neither his brother nor Mustang would talk about it but he knew it had to have been something serious. The worst part was Ling seemed to know something about it too, but he also refused to say anything about it.

Frustration at being kept in the dark was the primary motivator of Al's current adventure, but he wasn't going to leave if WInry was uncomfortable with being left with these two. She assured him she was fine however, so he headed out. As soon as he was gone Ling smiled and asked what was for dinner. Winry glared but he didn't seem to mind, so with a sigh she began cooking. The baby was going to need to eat anyway.

Ling settled into one of the kitchen chairs to watch her cook, and make faces at the baby. Yuery seemed rather unimpressed with the prince and was mostly ignoring Ling. Ling seemed to see this as a challenge to try harder. After a few minutes of making faces and finger wiggling toward the child Lan Fan requested he stop.

"Oh, he's going to love me, just like his father." Ling said to assure the women. "I just need to try harder."

"I am fairly certain his father does not love you sir." Lan Fan said drily.

"Of course he does, he's just hard at showing it." Ling said with a waive of his hand to rid himself of the negativity.

"Actually. Ed isn't very good with people. He always seems to assume they plan on using him or leaving him behind, so he chooses not to like anyone really. You just gotta try harder to make him like you. Yuery though isn't going to like anyone unless he gets food so we should just be glad he's not yelling." Winry said as she stirred a pot on the stove.

"Thank you for the advice. I will be sure to push harder to make Ed like me." Ling said brightly.

"That is not what I said. Please do not push harder. He can and will bite if provoked." Winry said half joking.

The conversation died there when Ling spotted the puppy and took off to pet it. Winry stared after him for a moment before deciding it didn't matter if he was crazy or faking it because he was making her crazy. She was going to feed the two of them, then put Yuery to bed and spend the rest of the night ignoring Ling.

Rockbelle Residence

11:00 pm

Edward was pretending to sleep, even after his father left the room leaving the door open slightly. He was a bit annoyed the man had been in here. He had needed a father ten years ago, but now he was fine. Now he had a child of his own, and a brother to take care of, and friends who looked after them…and Mustang. Mustang who for whatever reason Ed still hadn't worked out, was more a father to him than his father ever had been.

Just as he started to drift off, he heard Granny and his father talking in the room beside his door. He suppressed a groan before rolling onto his back, with the intent of sneaking over to shut the door, then he heard what they were saying. His father just asked if Granny was sure that thing was really mom. He seemed to think it wasn't, suggested it wasn't. The mere idea was nagging the corners of Ed's mind not wanting to leave him alone.

Before he could really figure that bit out, his father asked about his son. Granny was quiet for a time, as if trying to decide what to say. Apparently, she didn't completely trust him, which Ed was thankful for, since she told him the fake mom version Ed had mentioned before. The old man accepted her story, which good. That was one less thing to punch the man for, so yay.

As he rolled back over, Ed knew what he was going to have to do, and he deeply regretted the idea of it. He was going to have to dig up the remains hidden behind his former home and hope a doctor could prove it.

Mustang-Elric Residence

6:00am

Winry had spent the night on the couch with Yuery in her arms as she waited for the household to return. It had been a restless night, Winry waking at least twice as often as the child, who probably would have slept better had she not jerked awake several times. He was likely to have a cranky day she realized guiltily as she finally relented and allowed Ling to hold the baby.

She had felt bad last night about them staying nearby clearly to keep watch over herself and Yuery, and had even offered them the guest room since she wasn't going to using it but they had refused, insisting that they were fine with sitting in the living room. Ling claimed he didn't want to miss anything when the others came in. Winry felt he was a liar but nodded just the same.

While the prince did tend to be annoying at times, he had been very friendly and calming as they waited. It made Winry wonder if his persona of 'pampered prince' was as much an act as Ed's "arrogant jackass". She wasn't going to pretend to understand the world these boys had to navigate on a daily basis, but from what she had seen from the adults, wearing a mask was clearly a necessity.

So far Ed had done his best to shield her from the world of military intrigue and backstabbing, but if she wanted to be a meaningful part of his and Yuery's lives she needed to figure it out because at least for the foreseeable future this WAS Ed's world. With his newly minted family addition of Colonel Mustang this part was likely never to end even if Ed left the state alchemist program.

It was time to grow up she decided. She wanted to act like an adult, she wanted to be a maybe parent to Yuery, she needed to learn the game along with the rest of them. Her eyes drifted to Lan Fan, as she wondered if maybe the other girl could help her at least learn to read Ed better. After all Lan Fan seemed to have no problem reading Ling.

She decided to slip outside for a few minutes of fresh air just as Al finally walked up clearly worse for wear. She asked "What in the world?" as she jumped to her feet and looked over the damage. "Ed is going to be so angry when he sees this!"

"We ran into some trouble. Classified. Roy is currently in the hospital and won't be out for at least a few days I think. It's okay I just need to stay home and out of the way for a few days and Brother will repair the damage when he gets back home."

"Well hopefully he hurries then because you need some major repairs. Luckily only Ling and Lan Fan are here so no need to hide, but hurry up lets get you inside."

9:00am

Mustang-Elric residence

Edward arrived from the train station to find Al ripped up, WInry frazzled, Mustang gone and two squatters eating them out of kitchen. He wasn't sure which item to deal with first as he stared angrily at his battered brother while the freeloading Prince slurped loudly behind him. He turned to the prince to growl "What exactly are you doing here anyway Ling? Last I heard you are wanted for breaking out of jail."

"…I was helping Winry with the baby, and eating this very wonderful oatmeal. Thank you Winry." Ling said.

"Get. Out. You freeloader." Ed growled pointing to the back door.

"Okay." Ling said brightly before standing and heading toward the back door. "See you all later."

Ed sighed heavily as he pinched his nose, then returned his attention to his brother to repair the damage, before demanding to know what happened. Winry wisely chose to stay out of the conversation instead busying herself with keeping Yuery entertained with some wooden blocks on his highchair tray. Al, meanwhile began with explaining he had insisted on helping with a mission that had led them to the basement under Lab3.

Al went on to explain the fight with Lust, Hawkeye's breakdown, and Roy's injuries. Ed was more than a little upset to hear about it all, but kept himself calm enough to explain what he had learned about their transmutation. Al was as relieved as Ed had been to learn it hadn't been their mother.

After eating himself Ed collected Yuery to spend some time with the boy. He hated leaving the child behind, and was determined that if he had to leave then he HAD to make him coming home exciting so that would be strongest part of the memory. So far it seemed to be working well enough.

As he played with his son, he continued to talk with Al and Winry about the situation at hand. Now that he was back and armed with the full truth, he explained what had happened over the last few days and assured them that the official cover story of the prison break would carry the weight it needed. As Yuery grew tired, Ed put him to sleep in the playpen surrounded by his favorite toys. He then rushed off to shower before he was interrupted. A few minutes later Ed asked if he could visit Roy and would they mind watching the baby. They both readily agreed so he looked up visiting hours and was on the way.

1:00pm

Central Hospital

Once Winry assured him he was fine to head to the hospital he went directly over to check on them. Mustang was sitting up complaining, convincing most of their friends and coworkers that he was completely fine. Ed recognized the signs, being the same way, and knows that Roy is far from okay and just putting up a front to keep anyone from worrying for him.

"I'm sorry I reacted inappropriately. I forgot myself." Edward said. He had no idea who may be listening in, but he wanted Roy to know he really was sorry for jumping to conclusions especially so soon after they had talked about the need for secrecy.

"You're forgiven Fullmetal. It had been a stressful week." Mustang replied. Message received and accepted.

"So, how long are you in here for?" Ed asked.

"They want to keep me at least eight weeks, but I doubt it's necessary." Roy replied.

"Eight weeks huh? I've heard that one myself. I always consider their timeframe a guideline, with a goal to cut it at least in half myself." Ed said with a smirk.

"Fullmetal… no, never mind. I'm supposed to be in recovery, I can't deal with this right now…just try to stay out of trouble." Roy said with a sigh. "I have you listed as research rotation so no one can borrow you until I get back to the office. Just stay away from headquarters."

"Yeah yeah. Like I've never had a research rotation before. Thanks." Ed said before sighing and heading toward the door. "I'll be by to bug you again tomorrow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow post. Internet issues made me a few hours late


	17. A Time to Reflect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> . "Edward Elric. You can't go doing crazy things! What would you have me say to him if something happened to you?!"

A Time to Reflect

Mustang-Elric Residence

9:00 am

Edward would like to pretend he was surprised to find Falman, Breda, and Fuery at the door this early but after the last few months, nothing was really surprising anymore. He was alarmed however.

"Ed, sorry, but lingering on the stoop of our C.O.s house when officially we should be at work and he isn't even here is going to look bad if anyone sees us." Breda said after Ed just continued to stare.

"Oh. Yeah." Ed said, as he steps aside to let them in. "What's happened now? Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, about that. That largely why we came over." Breda said with a frown as they all made their way into the living room where Winry and Al had been sitting with Yuery. "You might not want to go over there today. Havoc is having trouble, and decided that he was going to let the others in on it last night."

"What kind of trouble?" Ed asked with a frown.

"He can't feel anything below the injury." Fuery said grimly. "Not since the incident. He had been hoping that it was going to just go away, but if anything it got worse so he finally decided to let Mustang and the doctors know. Mustang is understandably upset."

"Oh hell, he's not thinking of doing something stupid like checking out early to find some way to fix this…right?" Ed said, but was not reassured by the way they all frowned.

"Okay. Okay." Ed said as he ran a hand through his hair trying to think. "Okay. Got it. Breda, are you still on leave?"

"Yeah, until next week. Falman too." Breda said in confusion.

"Great. Okay. I'm going to give you some very off the record information. I mean it. Completely 100% off the record. Like at least four people could be thrown in jail if this got out off the record." Ed said. "But it could help Havoc, and may be his only chance."

"Okay, you can count on me Sir." Breda said, adding the sir to indicate that he was taking this seriously. Ed nodded before turning to the notepad they kept by the phone and asking Al to go grab his journal.

Ed flipped through the journal before stopping on a page and copying down some information. Then he flipped the page, and wrote quickly, before finally handing Breda two pieces of paper, one sealed and the other simply folded. "Follow these direction to find a man named Maroh. Tell him Ed sent you, but told you nothing, then hand him this note. Wear civvies if he sees a uniform he'll run. "

"What kind of people have you been associating with Edward?" Falman asked with a frown.

"I have no idea what you mean. Maroh is simply an unusually gifted small town doctor." Edward said with a smirk.

"You have spent far too much time with Mustang. Seriously." Breda said shaking his head. "You're starting to sound just like him."

"Whatever." Ed said with a sigh. "Hey Winry, would mind watching Yu for me for a bit later? I need to go see Havoc and Mustang."

"If you want, we can drop you on the way to the train station?" Breda said. "That way you only have to walk one way."

"Thanks, I'll go get dressed, go ahead and grab some breakfast, it's still on the table." Ed said as he looked down and realized he was still in his sleep shorts and tank top.

A few minutes later he returned in his black leather pants, a black long sleeved button down, and his normal boots and gloves. His hair was in a ponytail instead of a braid. He saw the frowns the other men were giving him and shrugged. "I'm not working right now, I can dress casual." Before clipping his watch onto his belt loop. He never left it even when just wandering around the city.

Winry smiled and told Ed to have a good day before picking Yuery up and walking out of the room. Like Mustang she understood Ed's refusal to ever let Yuery watch him leave. It had been made worse by his recent encounter with his father. Now he wouldn't even go to the market unless Yuery was otherwise occupied, for fear of his son thinking he was being abandoned.

Central Military Hospital

Mustang/Havoc room

10:00 am

Edward walked calmly into the room carrying a folder and a couple of books, as if he was going to report on his research to Mustang. Once he was certain that the men were alone in the room, he flopped down in the chair between their beds with a sigh. "I heard the news Havoc."

"That was fast, even for this group." Havoc said with an attempt at good humor.

"Yeah well, they arrived before breakfast was over demanding I let them in so they wouldn't be seen, then they insisted on giving me a ride anyway. When I suggested this was flawed logic, since they wanted to not be seen, they said that was because I was from the Boonies and used to knowing everything about everyone." Ed said with a frown.

"Their theory is flawed I'm afraid." Mustang interjected. " I'm from Central, and I agree with you on the matter."

"I'm from the Boonies and I think you two are crazy." Havoc said cheerfully. " Of course you're alchemists so you're just naturally crazy."

"Anyway." Ed said with a snort of amusement. "As I said I heard about the problem."

"Don't worry Edward. I'm working on a solution." Mustang said. "There is no reason for you to concern yourself."

"Yeah well, I already did." Ed huffed. "I hope you don't mind Mustang but I borrowed one of your men and sent him on an errand for me."

"Did you now?" Mustang said, curious but aware that the room was likely bugged, and he knew Ed was aware of it as well.

"Yeah, I needed some research materials from out East that I forgot to pick up last time I was out that way." Ed said casually. At the same time he stretched and casually handed Roy his folder.

Roy read the top page before nodding and said in reply. "Yes, I can see how your research could benefit from this extra material. Provided of course you were able to accurately recall the location I am sure it will not be a large inconvenience. As I've mentioned before, repeatedly, my staff are available to aide you whenever you need, as long as you keep me informed "

Ed took the folder back and tucked it between the books on his lap, before nodding and adding. "Yeah, it ain't like your using them right now anyway. Managed to get yourself a nice paid vacation. Personally, I'd have gone with a simple head injury instead of impalement, but to each their own."

Edward and Roy weren't concerned about the contents of the folder, as it had been written, as agreed upon years ago, in the guise of a research update. Roy was able to read the hidden message easily enough. He remembered Marcoh well enough, and hoped that the man would agree to come help, though he also could understand if the man refused. He would be putting himself at risk coming here even in disguise.

Mustang himself was having a hard time sitting still this long, especially after learning of Havoc's condition yesterday. He needed to get back out there to find out what really happened to Maes, and what these things interest in the Elric brothers meant for the boys because he feared they were in great danger.

Ed stayed awhile longer, he even managed to convince both men to play a round of card together. When Ed slipped away after saying good bye he didn't think they noticed. When he arrived down in the lobby, he noticed Hawkeye seemed to be waiting for him. She nodded to him, and he sighed but followed as she lead him to her car. Once they were inside, and buckled she simply stated. "Falman expressed concern for the safety of your research and health should you carry it down the wrong alleyway."

"How completely irresponsible. I do not carry research down alleyways. Anymore. I learned my lesson years ago." Ed snorted but accepted the ride, so he could advise Hawkeye on what he was planning which was the biggest reason why she was here herself.

Mustang Residence

2:00 pm

Ed answered the phone, as he always did, with a polite. "Mustang Residence, how may I help you." He made sure to never identify himself when taking these calls, mostly because he still feared transferring if their housing arrangements annoyed the brass again.

"It's me, Breda" came the response across the line.

"Can I help you?" Ed asked, but was concerned because their arranged protocol had no one call in from an unofficial mission unless there was an emergency.

"Someone already took off with the material you were looking for sir." Breda said sounding worried. "Whoever it was has no respect for the ways of filing either. The whole room looked like it had had a fight in it or something."

"That does sound terrible. Well come on back and I'll just worry about it later then. Hopefully no permanent damage was done." Edward said, amazed at his ability to sound calm over the phone. He hoped Breda would make it back without any issue. He shouldn't have sent the man off alone like that, not to deal with an alchemist. He was just worried about spooking Marcoh, now he had to worry about worse. He needed to go update Mustang.

Once again he asked Winry if she would mind watching Yuery while he ran over to the hospital, and the rushed through getting ready before heading out in the right direction. It was about twenty minutes walk to the hospital, not really a big deal to him, provided no one was already onto him and wanted to keep him quiet like Hughes.

It didn't matter that he hadn't finished piecing things together. They didn't know for sure Hughes can or if he had just gathered too many pieces. Ed walked briskly, as if he was in a hurry but otherwise occupied, like he did when he was thinking of his research. No one bothered him or acted like they were watching him as he went along. Sometimes though he could swear he felt eyes on him coming from the shadows of a building, or down an alley and he would speed up slightly, all the while telling himself he was overreacting.

It was a relief when he arrived at the hospital, and he was not at all surprised to spot Mustang talking to Knox while reading a book on spinal injuries in the middle of the lobby. When they saw Ed approaching Knox took his leave and Ed frowned deepened. He collapsed into the chair recently occupied by the old doctor and with a heavy sigh he said. "Breda said it was a no go. Someone got to it before me, but at least I know I'm not chasing a myth but a legend."

"That is disappointing and concerning." Roy said carefully. 'Are you going to switch tracks or are you going to try to track down this elusive tome."

"I don't see the point in chasing a cold trail with my other responsibilities needing my focus. I will search for other avenues." Ed said with a sigh. "C'mon I'll walk you back to your room so the nurses don't yell about you walking around alone."

Once Ed managed to get Roy settled back into his room, he turned to leave. Before he could Roy stopped him to say. "I need you to not do anything rash Edward. I can't help you from in here, and they aren't letting me out yet."

"I'll be safe Roy, I promise." Ed said in return, which did not reassure the older man at all. They both sighed as Ed left, neither happy with this turn of events.

Mustang-Elric Residence

6:00 pm

Ed was pensively watching his son play in the living room, walking shakily along the couch while babbling to himself. He knew he needed to talk to the others about his theory about Al, but he didn't know where to start.

Winry joined him then and sat on the floor next to him, while Al sat on the chair nearby. "Okay, something happened. It's been eating at you all day."

"Well. It's just a theory but… you know how I found out that thing wasn't actually mom? And you were worried about what that meant for getting you back?" Ed started, and Al nodded. "Well I was thinking about the whole memory thing."

"What about it?" AL said, still a little sore on the subject even if he had mostly let it go.

"Well the thing is, I noticed just recently, probably because I never paid attention to it before. You have memories I don't" Ed said quietly.

"Winry, do you remember when we were little and Al and I both asked you to marry us, and you said no?" Ed asked.

"Yeah." WInry said with a nod.

"Well, you and Al both remember that but I don't." Ed said. "And there's a bunch of stuff I remember but Al doesn't… I was thinking about that night, and how we mixed out blood. I think by doing that we somehow mixed our souls a bit too. I think your body might still be there at the gate waiting for us to reclaim it!"

"Wait but if it is, does that mean it's like Barry an-" Al said upset at the idea.

"No not exactly. I think maybe MY body has been supporting your body this whole time, and that's why I'm so sh- sh- short. I mean haven't grown properly." Ed said as the other two stared at him in shock at the idea that he just admitted his size issue.

"Well, if that's true, how does that help?" Winry asked.

"It means we don't need to rebuild Al a new body, just get his old one back." Ed said, "I think that maybe those things may be part of the answer but we'd have to catch one to find out."

Before Ed could say anything else Winry glared at him, and bopped him on the top of his head before scooping up Yuery and pushing the child into his lap. "Edward Elric. You can't go doing crazy things! What would you have me say to him if something happened to you?!"

"That's the thing Win!" Ed said rubbing his head. "Those things have gone out of their way to avoid causing us harm. I don't think they're allowed to hurt us. We just got to think of a way to make that work for us."


	18. Advance the Fool

Advance the Fool

Mustang-Elric Residence

9:00 am

Edward was feeding Yuery his oatmeal while sipping coffee and dodging stray bits of food as his son threw them, while Al read the paper across the table. Winry arrived downstairs a few minutes later, still looking tired but that was to be expected before coffee.

The morning was beginning rather typically, as this was the routine they had fallen into over the last few days. Ed frowned when Ling suddenly occupied the final seat at the table and helped himself from the platter of Eggs in front of him.

"Please Ling, do come in and make yourself at home. I insist you have a bite you seem hungry." Ed said sarcastically as Lan Fan appeared next to Ling, filling her own plate before hoping onto the counter to eat as well.

"Why thank you Ed." Ling said with a smile. "Any word on a plan yet?"

"No. Even if there was I wouldn't tell you because the only reason you know anything at all is that you're a weird little creep who listens in to conversations taking place at midnight in a second floor bedroom." Ed said with a huff.

"What's going on?" WInry asked as she added sugar to her coffee that she had already diluted with enough milk to make Ed shudder and guarantee he wouldn't swipe it.

"Well." Ling said calmly. " Ed has a couple of problems he needs to take care of, and since he was having a hard time coming up with a safe idea on how to grab a homunculus – which I did offer to help with, offer is still open- so instead he's trying to focus on fixing Yuery. Or at least he was last night."

"What? What's wrong with Yuery?" Winry asked, suddenly a lot more awake.

"According to these weirdos he's possessed." Ed said. "And if he had a blood seal in him, we need to remove it without hurting him, which is an issue. I think it may be easier to find a way to fix Al because that may hold answers to fixing Yuery."

"You could ask someone advancing in the Healing Arts. They may be able to help." Lan Fan suggested as Ling nodded.

"I have an idea on how to catch a homunculus, but you aren't going to like it." Ed said as he scooped more oatmeal into the baby's mouth.

"What's that?" Winry said with a scowl. If he knew she wasn't going to like it ,it was probably something stupid and dangerous.

"We could act as bait. If I'm right they would have to show up to save us, and then we could grab one." Ed said, before wiping off the baby's face and taking his dishes to the sink so he wouldn't have to see her expression.

"I would be happy to offer our services." Ling offered. "In exchange for being allowed to examine the creature for a key to their powers. Perhaps even taking the creature back to Xing if it is possible to transport. Once you get your answers from it of course."

"That could actually help a lot, thanks Ling." Ed said before turning to look at WInry.

"It's not going to matter what I say, you'll do it anyway." WInry said angrily. "I need to go. I have customers begging me to return. They need me."

"When are you thinking of leaving?" Ed asked. He would love for her to stay, but she was right, he wasn't the only one who needed her.

"I bought a ticket for the day after tomorrow. I was going to tell you after breakfast." Winry said. Ed visibly relaxed when she said she had already bought the ticket meaning she had planned this already and wasn't leaving just because she was angry with him. Winry picked the baby up and kissed the top of his head. "Plan this carefully Ed. Don't make him an orphan. I'm going to spend the morning cuddling with my favorite guy in the world." With that she left the room with his son, and Ed couldn't bring himself to object.

After a few minutes Ling cleared his throat, showing an extreme amount of tact (for him) before hedging. "We still need to think up an angle on this."

"I know. Give me a day to think of something." Ed replied. "I just need time. For now, I'm going to go join Winry and Yuery. I haven't had much time with him lately."

10:00 am

Ed was just coming out of the store with a couple of bags when Danny Broch rushed up to him. "Major Elric, sir! I'm glad I caught you. Word just came through that Scar was spotted on the North side last night near the slums."

"Thank you for the warning." Ed said before turning away to head home.

"I really should escort you sir." Lt Broch said as he reached to take one of Ed's bags. Ed jerked back, he didn't need anyone getting wind of where he was staying, especially not someone who was openly hostile toward Mustang even if it was theoretically justified considering Broch though Mustang murdered Ross and got away with it.

"I will be fine on my own Lt. I am less than a block away. Dismissed." Ed said, mustering his best imitation of the tone Mustang used when giving a direct order. Apparently, it worked at Broch snapped into a stiff salute and watched him leave with a frown but didn't follow. Ed wasn't overly worried because it was as close as he claimed, he was on high alert anyway, and Lan Fan had followed him to the store at Ling's insistence. At least he had a half-formed plan now.

When he arrived home however, he found a small hitch in the plan in that Winry needed to do some shopping before she left tomorrow. On the other hand, that would help keep her out of the loop and hopefully out of danger. A quick phone call later had secured Gracia as a very willing babysitter.

He then sat down to explain his plan to Al and Ling. It was a simple plan. After weeks of staying lowkey and under the radar, he was going to draw attention to himself. So much attention Scar would have to notice, and then THEY would have to show up to save him.

They waited until Winry left, then Ed dropped Yuery off with Gracia, and began making a spectacle of himself as loudly and as showy as possible. The radio was reporting his antics by noon. Winry still was mercifully unaware as she had been shopping.

12:00

Central Hospital Mustang's room.

Roy cursed loudly before he struggled out of bed, ignoring both the pain pulling at his side, and Hawkeye's damning glare. The radio had been talking about how wonderful Fullmetal was considering no one had even asked for help when he started and Scar was still in the area, as evidenced by the earlier reports before Ed started… whatever this was.

When Hawkeye tried to push him back into bed gently, this didn't work this time thanks to his own stubbornness and his concern for Edward. When Mustang started hunting around for his slippers, she sighed heavily. "What exactly do you think you can accomplish by checking yourself out of the hospital early?"

"I need to go find him and warn him about what all is going on. This is the kind of reckless impulsive behavior that is always getting him into trouble." Roy said as he looked around for the change of clothes he knew Ed had brought by the other day. "Please go find a nurse so I can tell them I'm leaving."

Hawkeye sighed again but went in search of medical personnel that could check Mustang out of here before he decided to just leave. Really, he was a hypocrite calling Ed reckless, though she agreed that they both were. She managed to find his doctor rather quickly, and within twenty minutes they were driving away from the hospital and a very disgruntled and reluctant doctor.

Hughes Residence

2:00pm

Gracia wanted to turn off the radio, but the periodic updates on the fight between Edward and Scar were tearing at her. She was concerned for the boys, and ignoring the situation was only going to make that worse. Still, she didn't want Elicia to know anything was wrong either, her poor daughter had already suffered enough.

Yuery and Elicia were currently sitting on the floor in front of her, Yuery wearing a large floppy hat that Elicia had placed on his head so he could join her tea party. The baby was chewing on the tea cup he had been given and giggling, while Elicia patently explained the rules of this game to him.

Gracia heard about the explosions about ten blocks from the Mustang/Elric house, then about a friend of Edward's being escorted to safety by the MPs. Hopefully the boys were okay, but details were sketchy at best. A few minutes later they announced that Scar had escaped once more, and that they were tallying the injured but it appeared that no one had died.

She was relieved, more so when Winry arrived, shaken looking, just after four and asked if she and Yuery could stay overnight. Gracia agreed before asking if Edward was alright. Winry nodded with a sniff. "He was fine when I saw him a bit ago. He said he had to go give a briefing about everything that happened but that I should head home… Sc-Scar. That man. He's the one who killed my parents!"

"Oh honey!" Gracia hugged Winry and patted her back while she cried.

"I think maybe that's why Ed confronted him. Apparently he found out while he was out East last time but he didn't want to tell me because he didn't want to cause me any pain. Which is sweet of him, but he should have told me! He said he would come by when he was done to check on me and if I wanted he was going to take me and exchange my ticket to get on the train tonight to get me far away from that guy. I don't know if I should."

"You should go. It would make him feel better to have you away from that man." Gracia said. "I know it's going to sound strange, but Ed reminds me of both Maes and Roy at times. I understand those men. They are always trying to protect us, even if its just from hurt feelings. More than once during our marriage Maes asked me to visit family out of town when he was worried about a case. Now in the beginning I would refuse, I wanted to here for him. After awhile though I realized he actually concentrated better and was safer if he knew we were safe. So if nothing else go ahead and go for his peace of mind to keep him safe. He might not be ready to admit it, but he loves you."

"I… I suppose that makes sense. I should offer to take Yuery with me. That may make him feel better too, or it may make it worse. I've never met someone more concerned about giving their baby abandonment issues, though it makes sense with what it was like for him as a child." Winry said as she wiped her face. "I guess I may need to go pack then."

"Where was he expecting to meet you, here?" Gracia asked and she nodded. "Just wait here then if you leave it would cause him to worry. Didn't you say you were mostly packed when you guys dropped off the baby earlier? I'm sure you'll have time to get it the rest of the way together."

Before Winry could decide either way Ed arrived, covered in dust and sweat, looking exhausted. Winry hugged him anyway to assure him she wasn't angry with him. "Do you want me to take Yuery with me for a few days? Just until you figure out if it's safe to have him here with Scar so close by."

Ed visibly relaxed even with the reluctant frown on his face. " I don't want to send either one of you away. I really don't want to send him away. What if he thinks I'm bored with him? That I don't love him anymore. I've already been so busy since we moved back to Central that I barely get to spend anything more than the morning with him."

"He'll be fine Edward. I'm sure he would enjoy a little trip with WInry. Perhaps Elicia and I should go along, then he won't interrupt your work WInry, and when it's safe to come back, I could just bring him instead of you having to drop everything." Gracia offered giving both teens a moment to think about it she then went to go make a pot of tea.

By the time she returned, Ed had reluctantly agreed, and Gracia went to go pack a few days worth of clothing for herself and her daughter. They shouldn't be gone longer than a week by her estimate. Ed had never allowed himself to be away from the baby longer than that, and usually it was much shorter.

Central Train Station

6:00pm

Winry, Yuery, Gracia, and Elicia boarded the train, and Winry helped Yuery wave at Ed before asking Gracia hold him for a few minutes while she said good-bye because she was pretty sure Ed's rule about seeing him leave extended to Yuery watching as a train left his father behind. After Ed vowed to make her cry tears of joy the next time he made her cry she returned her attention to the baby, who snuggled into her as soon as she took him, and started to drift to sleep.

Winry smiled down at the baby as Gracia cuddled Elicia to her and the toddler joined the baby in napping. "I know it sounds silly, but I love this baby. Sometimes it feels like he could be mine." Winry said quietly.

"I'm pretty sure he feels the same way for you." Gracia said with a smile. "Don't worry It will work itself out." She had watched these teens for weeks and was well aware of the fact that they were in love with each other, and were unaware of how they felt. They had gone on one date, she knew, but otherwise neither had said or did anything to advance their relationship. It was probably not the best timing to worry about it right now with everything else that was happening, but it was very possible in her opinion that Winry may become this baby's step mother, and even if she didn't they were so close that much like Roy with her daughter Winry would still have a place in Yuery's life.


	19. The 520 Cens Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ed wasn't sure about this. Roy had led him to a seedy looking bar in a run down area, in the middle of the night. This was the kind of situation Roy had spent YEARS, literal years, telling him to avoid.

The 520 Cens Promise

Garfiel's

11:00 am

Winry had spent the morning playing with Yuery and helping him settle into a new strange place. Luckily he had been here before, and knew Garfiel, so he wasn't overly fussy about the whole thing. Elicia seemed somewhat shy at first, but that was to be expected after the summer she had had. Soon enough she warmed up to Winry's boss however. Garfiel while very boisterous most of the time, seemed to understand the children were already overwhelmed and had switched tactics to become very soft spoken. Gracia and Winry were both grateful.

Gracia and Garfiel were both encouraging her to take a break and work in the shop for awhile. She always felt more relaxed while building new automail limbs, and the last few days had been extremely stressful. After what she had learned about her parents deaths… well if not for Yuery she wasn't sure she would have been able to keep the tears away. Even if she had promised herself that she wouldn't cry anymore. Ed had enough on his plate without worrying about her too.

Yuery seemed content to play quietly with Elicia and Gracia assured her that she had the kids well in hand so Winry went ahead through to the workshop. Winry was in the middle of assembling a finger when Garfiel told her she had a call. The near panic in Ed's tone was a little frightening when she answered, but he seemed to relax after she gave him a hard time over it.

"Win, just please… watch yourself and be careful okay?" Ed said over the phone.

"Yeah okay Ed. Youre scaring me a bit here to be honest." Winry said in response.

"Ah, everything is fine. In fact you can go ahead and send Yu and the Hughes back home if they are ready." Ed said, not wanting to be separated from his son in light of the threats that were made. Especially not with the very real risk to Winry. He had tried to warn her and she had promised to be careful but he knew how stubborn she could be.

Winry promised to talk to Gracia, and did after she hung up. Gracia was not surprised it had been such a short visit. As Winry herself had pointed out, Ed did not like separating from the child. Shortly thereafter Winry walked Gracia and the kids to the train station and promised Yuery she would see him again soon.

Mustang-Elric Residence

6:00 pm

Roy let himself into the house, unsure if the boys would be there since he hadn't seen them since Ed borrowed his pocket change the day before, and he hadn't heard from them either. He knew they had to still be in town somewhere, but that didn't narrow things down, though he had overheard that Al (or rather a large man in a suit of armor) had been asking around about a cat earlier this afternoon.

He was relieved when he spotted Ed sprawled across the couch in the living room, still dressed in the outfit he had seen him in last. They couldn't have been here long them, Roy assumed, as he flopped into the armchair across from the tired teen. "Where have you been Edward?"

"Aw, don't tell me you were actually worried about me." Ed said in response, as he waived a piece of paper in his left hand. "We spent most of the night reading, then today we were looking for this girl…well her pet so we could find her."

"I see, may I ask why?"

"Well we left her with Knox last night, but when we went to talk to her this morning, both her and Lan Fan were gone. She's an expert on the healing arts… Ling suggested finding such an expert may be a viable avenue to our problems." Ed said as Roy gestured to be handed the paper as Cobalt climbed into his lap. "Hey LazyCat, don't help him be lazy, he doesn't need it it."

Roy looked at the drawing, a copy that Al had done, as he asked where Al was, Al poked his head in the doorway as if summoned to announce that he was headed back out and to suggest Ed stay and get some sleep. Ed looked like he would protest before nodding with a sigh.

After the front door closed Ed sat up a little, so he was more in a slouch than flat on his back. " I went by Hawkeye's last night to give her back her gun. She told me all about Ishbal, and your plans."

"Did she now, why I wonder." Roy said after stiffening slightly. Ed snorted and tossed him his pocket watch as he explained simply that Ed had asked. He then gestured to the watch and said "Secret for secret Roy. It's equivalent. Keep in mind that Al doesn't know what it says."

With resignation, Roy opened the lid, not sure he wanted to know. This was personal after all. The underside of the lid read "don't forget 3. Oct. 10". Roy knew what it meant. He knew about the boys' first trip home after Ed passed, but he wasn't going to comment on it, instead he closed the lid and handed it back before saying. "You owe me money."

"Wow, really. It's what 500 cens you cheapskate." Ed said as he dug through his pockets coming up with a little over 1530 cens . He stared into his palm for a moment, thinking fast. He had understood what Riza had said about the plan, and Ed wasn't having it. He refused to loose another parent. "You know what? I'm going to just keep ahold of this for now. I'll pay you back when you become president."

"Alright? It's 520. Get it right." Roy said before Ed then launched into a long list of reasons he would then borrow more money to be returned when the next step occurred, and Roy realized what the boy was really doing was giving him a reason to keep moving forward, though a flimsy one in a way.

They fell into silence as Ed laid back down and Roy sat back again, before Ed waived his hand again. "Yuery will be on the morning train with the Hughes."

"Okay." Roy said as he shook himself out of the half sleep he had drifted into.

"I know it would usually be smarter to leave him with Winry, or Granny, with everything happening-" Ed started defensively. "Normally I would leave him there with what they said to us, but if they know so much about Winry and where she lives and works, I think it's safer here at the moment. Which sounds crazy when I say it aloud but I already asked he be brought back so its too late now, and I miss him" Ed added the last part with a challenging scowl on his face as if he expected Roy to argue or tease him.

"I am certainly not going to complain about Yuery's arrival. As far as his safety is concerned…well… have I told you about my mother before?" Roy said with a smile. Ed shook his head still frowning in confusion, though he thought he may have vaguely mentioned her as his network, or part of it anyway. "Needless to say, there are plenty of willing and capable babysitters if it becomes needed." Roy said as Ed thought it over. He nodded a few minutes later, before picking up where he left off.

"Maybe. I'd want to meet them of course." Ed said with a frown, not liking the idea of leaving the baby with someone new, but knew that after everything that happened it was not as likely. "Gracia will be dropping him off here, didn't wanna tempt fate and meet them at the station in case somehow no one noticed him yet."

"Good." Roy said. "Wait, what other issues do you need a healer for?"

"What?"

"Aside from restoring Al what else did you need from this girl?" Roy said growing concerned. If Ed had been hurt it's not like he would tell Roy unless he had to.

"Yuery." Ed said after a moment. "Ling and Lan Fan both said Yuery has…something… attached to him that shouldn't be there, I think it probably has to do with something when his mom died. Ling said to look into it and if nothing else he'll hire me a healer and send them right across, but I hate to put anyone else at risk… and no one in their right mind would cross in the summer."

"When you were in England, did their 'prophesy' say anything about this?" Roy asked, wondering if someone had intentionally done something to the child.

"No. No wait, the old man said something about 'marking as an equal' so maybe…" Ed said with a frown as he tried to remember the exact wording of the thing. "Possibly. There's gotta be a way to fix it though, and I'll find it. I'm not letting those weirdos hurt my son."

"Indeed." Roy said in complete agreement. If the prince was right about the baby having an issue they would find a way to fix it. "I'll be sure to have this girl found, we'll start tomorrow."

"Thank you." Ed said visibly relaxing at this.

They lapsed back into silence as both seemed about to drift off right there in the living room, before with a groan Roy pushed to his feet to announce he was calling his mother to let her know they would be by after dinner. Ed objected mostly because he didn't want to bother leaving the house, but Roy ignored him. He did offer to take them out for dinner instead of bothering to cook so Ed reluctantly forced himself off the couch to get ready.

Madame Christmas Bar

9:00pm

Ed wasn't sure about this. Roy had led him to a seedy looking bar in a run down area, in the middle of the night. This was the kind of situation Roy had spent YEARS, literal years, telling him to avoid. He thought about bringing that up but some random girl was already flinging herself into Roy's arms and suddenly Ed was mad at him for Hawkeye's sake. Not that Roy and Hawkeye were a couple, but they should be as far as Ed was concerned, and as such it felt like a betrayal to her that this strange woman was hugging Roy like that.

"Roy! It's been too long!" Vanessa said as she released the hug only to kiss his cheek. She then noticed the teenager frowning at her from next to him. "And who is this?"

"This is Edward, Ed this is Vanessa. Is Madame in?" Roy said smoothly, apparently not noticing the scowl on the boy's face.

"Yes of course, she's doing some paperwork but said to take you right back when you got here." Vanessa said before glancing once more at the angry teen.

"She's expecting us both." Roy assured as he started forward through the relatively empty bar. Vanessa nodded then fell into step, taking the lead as the reached the bar so that she could unlock a door to the left of it.

They then walked down a narrow, well lit hall to a door labeled 'Office' and passing several doors along the way. Vanessa knocked once before opening the office door and announcing that Roy Mustang and guest had arrived. Roy followed her into the room, followed by Ed who was still uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Being a teenager with no authority figures leaning over his shoulder he had of course, over the course of his career, been to a few bars )which he usually didn't mention in his reports) and had even tried beer twice (he didn't care for it) but having an adult intentionally bring him here was still out of his comfort zone.

The office was well lit, and a lot bigger than Ed had expected. It contained a large desk covered in papers and a couple of couches facing each other with a coffee table in between. As Roy nodded to an older heavy set woman with Roy's hair and eyes, Ed perched on one of the couches and Vanessa perched on the other. Roy sat next to Ed a moment later. The room was silent aside from the scratch of the pen as the woman signed the paperwork in front of her. Finally she looked up before setting down her pen and joining Vanessa on the opposite couch.

"So, is this the boy you keep bringing up?" She said after a moment that she had spent eyeing the boy across from her and deciding he wasn't very impressive looking. Ed rolled his eyes used to this treatment before clapping his hands and making a miniature version of Roy and Hawkeye looking ready to fight someone standing back to back. She snorted but nodded with respect to the boy.

"Ed, this is my mother, Madame Christmas. Madame, this is The Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric." Roy said introducing them.

"Oh, this is Edward Elric?" Vanessa said with an excited smile. "I've heard of him. You. There've been stories coming out of the east for years. I assumed you'd be a lot older…maybe even older than Roy-Boy here."

Ed, who had been about to go off about some slight to his size missed the rest of what she had said at first, before his brain pieced together the rest of what had been said. Before he could say anything Roy changed the subject, bringing it back to Madame Christmas who seemed rather busy. "I wanted to have Edward meet the two of you, in the event we require your services, as he is incredibly careful with whom he allows to interact with the baby. Now that we are here in town, and we are likely to grow busier in the coming weeks with most of the team moving on, it seemed that now would be ideal." Roy said.

"Of course." Madame said as she turned her attention to Edward. She had heard a lot about the boy over the years, and she was one of the few people who knew the truth about where the baby had come from since she had been the one to arrange the paperwork. Edward didn't know that part however, and seemed nervous overall. "It is good to finally put a face to the name Edward."

"Um. Thanks. So this is who you wanted to leave Yu with then?"

"Yes." Roy said with a sigh. Edward had not relaxed about Yuery's care over the last few months despite Roy's attempts and recent events were not going to make that any better. "I trust them completely Ed. They would never do anything to harm the baby."

"So…this is your mother you said?" Ed asked, sounding rather rude in a tone Roy recognized was actually nerves. "What about her?"

"Foster mother. She is my birth father's sister. Vanessa was also raised by her so she's nearly a sister to me." Roy said with a smile, and Ed suddenly liked her a lot more now that she wasn't in Hawkeye's way. Not that Ed planned to play matchmaker. Far too many people had done that to him for him to do it to anyone else… he just made sure to watch out for anyone who was not Hawkeye looking like they wanted to go out with Mustang and then glare at them until they did the right thing and walked away.

"Do you know how to hold a baby?" Ed asked suddenly. "Lots of people who try to hold him don't know how to hold him… I assume you might know since Roy does."

"Yes, I know how to care for babies, I've certainly taken care of enough of them over the years." Madame responded with a laugh. "I like this boy Roy. He reminds me of you. So, when do I get to meet Yuery?"

"He isn't in town right now." Ed said with a frown. "I don't really want to bring him into a bar either, so maybe…"

"Madame can come by tomorrow afternoon to meet Yuery and Alphonse. She knows how to get there without being seen and I've already briefed her on the issues involved yesterday."

"Well, good then. We should probably be going then I guess."

With that they made their way back out of the bar, and back to the car. They were most of the way home before Ed spoke. "I guess it's a valid back up plan for babysitting. I want to see them interact with Yu before I commit though."

"Understandable. I expected nothing less. I simply wanted you to meet them before bringing Yu into it." Roy said sounding tired. It had been a long week and he really shouldn't be out of the hospital yet, let alone running around like he had been.

"Well, I'm going to get to bed so I am well rested to take back over baby care tomorrow. Al should be home soon, he was going to go check on the Hughes plants and make sure no one had messed with their stuff…that's where I stayed last night. I wanted to make sure no one tried to mess with them."

"That was very good of you. I think I shall head to bed myself. I trust Alphonse has his key?" Roy said already moving toward the stairs. Ed nodded but headed back toward the living room rather than upstairs and laid on the couch. He hated sleeping in the bedroom alone.

9:45am

Mustang-Elric Residence

Gracia and Elicia arrived with Yuery exactly at 9:45, just as Edward arrived in the kitchen. Ed was still in his sleep shorts with his hair wild, and bleary-eyed. The moment he saw his son however he perked up and rushed across the room to scoop his son up from Gracia's arms. "Yuery! How's my big boy, huh? Didja miss Daddy?! Daddy missed you." Ed said as he twirled the baby around in a circle and kissed his forehead a couple of times. He then turned his attention to Elicia, who was still standing next to her mom and looking a bit down. Ed shifted the baby onto his right hip careful not to squeeze as he scooped Elicia up on his left. "Elicia! It's the best girl in the whole world! How was your trip sweetheart?" He said as he once again spun in a circle making both children giggle as he kissed them both on the forehead once more.

Gracia smiled as she watched and Roy finished placing platters of eggs and sausage on the table, before wiping his hands and walking over to the others. Silently he snatched Elicia from Edward's arm as Ed twirled again, before settling her on his own hip and playfully saying. "Stop trying to steal my god daughter. She likes me best." And giving her a big hug before placing her at the table. Ed sighed dramatically as he strapped the baby into the highchair, and Elicia giggled.

"You have to share Uncle Roy. Mom said so, and Yu'ey is a baby so he's still alearin t'share." Elicia said with a serious tone. "We have to set 'xamples."

"Very true sweetheart. I apologize." Roy said with equal seriousness.

"Besides, I'm not Elicia's godfather, that's you. I'm her big brother. Lots of difference." Ed said before sticking out his tongue and setting a plate down in front of the preschooler and the baby.

"Now boys. You are both important to us. There's no reason to fight. As Elicia said we need to share and set a good example for the children." Gracia said with amusement. Roy nodded and hugged her before sitting across from her as Ed sat between the two children.

"Was the trip well?" Roy asked as the children began eating, including Edward.

"Yes, both of them behaved well." Gracia said, sipping her coffee. Roy nodded, sipping his own coffee as he watched with amusement as Yuery mimicked his father's abandon in shoveling food into his mouth. "What do you have planned for the day?"

"I haven't had a chance to play with Yuery since my injury. I've barely seen him." Roy said, before smirking. "Besides, I must remind him that I'm actually his favorite, he seems to be under the impression that his father is, when clearly I am."

"Good luck with that old man. I'm Daddy. You're just Yeye." Ed snorted, pausing long enough to respond and take a sip of his own coffee before diving back into his attempt to swallow as many eggs as possible as fast as possible.

"Oh, I'll win him over, just like Elicia." Roy said with confidence. "I simply bribe them with piggyback rides and new toys."

Gracia started laughing again as Ed attempted to swallow his mouthful to respond and Elicia squealed about a piggyback ride, which was when it occurred to Roy, he may not be recovered enough to do so without causing pain. Apparently, the same thought occurred to the other two though because Gracia immediately reminded Elicia that Roy still hurt, and Ed offered to take over that as well. Roy dramatically claimed Ed was trying to steal his job again but wasn't bothered a few minutes later when Ed disappeared out of the kitchen with a baby in one arm and a girl on his back.

Gracia started clearing the table and doing the dishes as she ignored Roy's protest. Roy settled for wiping down the table and counters then sweeping the floor. With two small children and an Edward, sweeping after the meal was necessary. Ed reappeared as Roy put the broom back empty handed. He shrugged and said. "Al's here. Now we both are pointless." He then flopped back into his chair and looked around for his coffee. Roy joined him at the table, placing a new mug in front of him.

Gracia joined them a moment later. "Well of course. It is Alphonse after all." She said and the other two nodded. They were both glad Al had finally gotten over his fear of holding his nephew because since then he had really bonded with the baby. "Edward, Yuery was asking for you often while we were gone."

"Is he still pulling up on tables and stuff?" Ed asked, he didn't want to mis any milestones. Ever. But he knew it was a risk when he sent the baby away or had to travel himself.

"He had not stood on his own, you didn't miss it." Gracia assured him.

"I did!" Roy said with a pout. "I didn't know he had started pulling up yet. Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"We had more important things to talk about. Plus I was gonna just let you see him do it and think he hadn't before." Ed said. "I know you've done that to me before. Never trust Breda to keep his mouth shut about milestones."

Roy frowned but joined Gracia and Ed laughing a moment later. Al called for Ed then because Yuery required a new diaper, and Roy was left with Gracia to finish cleaning up after breakfast. "So, I know Maes asked this before, but have you considered adopting Edward and Alphonse?"

"…I have. We are facing serious issues at the moment that I fear would put them in danger by making such a choice however. " Roy said, paused for a moment to insure neither boy had entered the room, then added. "I don't suppose I have considered the matter of their birth father until he apparently showed up while Ed was out East. I'm not giving him the boys back without a fight though, Edward and Alphonse are my children. That's what matters." Roy said while drying his hands after he finished washing the floor. "For the record, I also consider Elicia mine. Just so you know."

"Not at all surprising. I've met your mother, you take after her, whether you want to admit it or not."

"I'm not sure that I would have ever admitted to myself that I think of those kids as mine if not for that baby. They've spent so much time in my home since his arrival, but I barely spoke to them on personal matters before that. I cared about them. Did everything I could to ease their way. It was different though."

"One more reason to be grateful Edward brought Yuery into our lives then." Gracia said with a shrug. "I've never commented on the matter. He should have behaved more responsibly, we all know this. However, I hope he knows what a wonderful job he's doing with that child. He started earlier than was reasonable, but he's a great father."

Roy was briefly confused by Gracia's delicate wording before he remembered that she was among the vast majority who had been only given the 'Emily' version of events. She thought Ed had had a brief fling leading to early parenthood. She had no idea the risks and heroics involved. Roy couldn't tell her either. The less who knew the better. In fact, as far as Roy was concerned in a way it was for the best that Al believed his brother to be lying about where the child had come from. Roy had no idea which version Winry knew or believed, but including WInry that made it a grand total of four people who knew the truth. Him, Madame Christmas, WInry, and Edward. It was best no one else find out.


	20. Under Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Book Three Journey Ends will begin posting in a few days

Under Pressure

Central HQ

Colonel Mustang's Office

11:00 am

It wasn't that Mustang disliked his new office staff. It wasn't even that he thought they were all agents of the enemy. It was that he didn't KNOW. He couldn't trust them and that bothered him. No one said anything about him missing work yesterday. Hawkeye wasn't there to give him pointed looks. His new aide was timid and seemed to think Roy was either a timebomb about to explode or a particularly lazy cat… which, having met Cobalt, was kind of insulting.

Mustang, meanwhile, treated his aide and the rest of them, with the same distant politeness he treated anyone who he wanted to let down their guard but at the same time he fully expected to shoot him any moment. He was almost relieved when Falman came into the office to return his chess set.

After they chatted for a few minutes and Falman left again, Mustang took the chess set back to his inner office. He set up the board and retrieved his message, burning the note after reading it. His aide (whose name failed to come to him no matter how hard he tried) came in a moment later, to remind him that he had to have the monthly budget report done by the end of the day.

Since he wanted to leave early, that meant he had about two hours to get it finished. Which meant he only had an hour and a half before he needed to start reading it. He busied himself sorting the files into three piles. "Not Reading", "To Burn 'Accidentally' ", and "Should go ahead and sign this week". After that, he signed two forms that were due today as well, and took a nap, before finally getting to the budget report.

Finally, twenty minutes before he intended to leave, Mustang pulled the report to him and began to read rapidly. His aide, a young man named Heidrich according to his nametag, seriously wondered just how Hawkeye had put up with the man for so long. He had heard rumors that she often threatened the office with her gun and originally was appalled at the idea and assumed that it was just a myth. Like how the coffee pot on the third floor made drinkable coffee, or that Major Elric's brother was actually just an automan or ghost , or investigations did complete background checks on anyone who even considered transferring to Central. Now he was questioning all the rumors… well not the one about Major Elric's brother, that was just crazy, but the rest of them.

A few minutes later Mustang signed the form and grabbed his coat on the way out of the office, citing yet another doctor's appointment. This was likely true they assumed since he was only a few days out of ICU and really shouldn't be back to work yet at all.

Madame Christmas Bar

8:00pm

After dinner Mustang had gotten ready and left for his mother's bar, this time by himself. He would have to be gone for at least a couple of hours, as he was fairly confidant that he was being followed constantly. When he arrived about eight there weren't many people inside yet which suited him fine.

He delivered his message to his mother, she would get into contact with his former commander and pass the message on, then he sat back to relax and appear to be flirting with the girls at the bar. Eventually, after his seventh fake drink and second real one, he would stumble home. First though he managed to talk to his mother a couple more times on other more personal matters.

She gave him her best advice, as well as her normal cryptic warnings, and he in turn let her know everything he had learned so far including the current status of the hostage situation. She suggested that perhaps he should consider a short vacation and recommended the air to the north being good for the skin. He reminded her that vacations were in short supply with his recent move but that he would take it under advisement. He then walked away relieved to learn that Briggs was no more compromised than it was before. Falman would be safe at least. Madame would look into Fuery and Breda before he returned next week, and no one had come into the bar though several were keeping a watch outside.

Armed with this Mustang stumbled his way home and fumbled with the locks before making his way inside and instantly sobering. If growing up in a bar had taught him anything, it was how to fake a drunk. Ed and Yu seemed to have gone to bed already, but Al was sitting in the living room, reading yet another book on healing. Roy nodded to the boy before making his way upstairs. It was nearing midnight, though he's stayed up later in the past it was not something he looked forward to. Something smelled like a rat problem that needed his full attention.

Mustang Residence

4:45 pm

Edward was in the kitchen, stirring the stew he was making for dinner, while Yuery played with a couple of spare pots on the floor, banging on them with a wooden spoon. It was a rather hot day out, so instead of making biscuits to go with the stew he had sent Al to the bakery to pick up rolls, and Mustang was still at work so it was just the two of them.

Greed reached past Ed suddenly to snag a bit of carrot off of the cutting board just as Ed put down the spoon to add the next ingredient (the carrots). "You should probably lock your back door too." Greed said casually as he munched on the carrot.

"…Ling?" Ed asked hopefully while subtly inching closer to his son.

"Still Greed kid." Greed said as he rolled his eyes and added the carrots himself. There was no point in ruining a perfectly good meal after all.

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" Ed asked as he scooped up the baby, now feeling bolder with the child safe in his arms.

"You passed on the Prince's message, didn't you?" Greed asked as he set down the spoon and faced Ed. Ed nodded and Greed grinned. "Well then we owe you, so I came to even up because owing people is not my thing."

"So you stirred in the carrots?" Ed said, not really wanting to know what Greed was planning but hoping that if he talked long enough it might wake his friend up.

"Don't be foolish, it's not a good look on you and leads to things like missing limbs. I came to give you a warning." Greed smiled again and gestured for Ed to sit like HE was the unwanted guest. Ed refused, tightening his grip on his son slightly and leaning on the counter. Greed huffed before sitting himself. Even if Ed insisted on being uncomfortable Greed was going to relax. "The others know about the kid. I didn't have to tell them either, they already knew."

"I thought they did." Ed growled hugging the baby to his chest. Yuery was unhappy with this action that normally meant his dad was trying to get him to sleep. "What does it matter?"

"It matters because they're trying to decide if taking him as a second hostage on you is worth the trouble. So far they're leaning to no, but they also know exactly where he sleeps and what his favorite toy is and –"

"Okay, I get it." Ed growled. "So are you here to take him or what. I will fight you."

"Relax. It's just a heads up like I said I can't have us owing you anything… well the Prince said he owes you money, so aside from that."

"So I'm supposed to believe you're warning me for what? The goodness of your heart? "

"If it makes you feel better, it was the Prince's idea." Greed said with a shrug.

"Ling is still in there then? Ling fight him dammit!"

"Forget it kid. I'm still Greed. Now we're even. Watch out for Envy."

With that Greed calmly stood and walked back out of the back door just as Al came in through the front. Ed was mentally scrambling. Envy was a shapeshifter, anyone could be Envy. How was he supposed to know who to trust right now?'

Al came into the room, and Ed wondered if Envy could mimic his brother as well. There had to be some sort of test to be sure that Al was Al and Roy was Roy. Al set the bag down and greeted Ed and the baby. Yuery smiled and babbled at his brother as Ed's stomach clenched. He hated doubting his brother.

"Hey Al," Ed asked trying to sound casual even as he moved to partly block Yuery from Al's sight." Remember when we were kids and you tried to adopt Mrs. Harris cat?"

"It was not her cat! She just fed him sometimes, he would have been so much happier with us. Why do you ask, have you decided we can have a second cat?"

"No we aren't adopting another cat. I just…well I had to make sure you weren't Envy. They are after Yuery, according to Greed."

Al gasped, then reached for his nephew. Ed reluctantly passed the baby over. Yuery patted Al's arm and giggled before squirming until Al took pity on him and placed him back on the ground to resume banging on pots. Roy walked in the front door then, and Al stood to stir the stew effectively blocking Yuery from anyone who may enter the room.

Ed gave his brother a pointed look before meeting Roy in the hall. Roy had just finished removing both his uniform top and shoes. Ed crossed his arms ready to clap in an instant. Roy noticed the tense air of course and gave Ed a questioning look. Ed smirked grimly before asking "What was the first thing you ever said to me?"

Roy sucked in a breath. Whatever was going on Envy had to be involved. Ed had explained Envy's unique talent so that was the only thing he could think of, "I've been to your house. I saw your basement. What did you do" Mustang answered flatly. He had regretted that conversation since the words had been spoken. He'd hoped that somehow Ed had been so out of it at the time he would never remember how Roy had treated him. Apparently, he had, and he was relieved.

"Greed came by to let me know Envy and Co may try to take Yuery as a hostage. It seemed the smart thing to do to ask you and Al questions that only the real you could answer."

"That is a good solution for today." Roy said as they wandered into the kitchen. "We'll need something foolproof long term."

"Now that we know what they're planning it will be easier to see a threat. No one lets down their guard. No more going out alone Al, it opens too big of a door for either kidnapping you or impersonating you to get to Yuery." Roy said after they sat down to eat.

"No one takes Yuery from the room anymore either. I'm sorry Roy, but we can't risk someone pretending to be you to take him in the night. I'll be keeping our door locked at night." Ed said as he minced some of the noodles on his plate and scooped them onto Yuery's tray.

"I agree." Roy said reluctantly, already missing the morning routine that had yet to be interrupted. "However, before you go to bed at night I must insist we inspect the room to ensure it is empty."

"Are we overdoing it?" Al said soberly. "Maybe we are worrying over nothing, I could always just stay upstairs at night, then I'd know if something went wrong while you were sleeping."

"Actually, I was going to suggest just that, however in addition to our other precautions." Roy said. "For tomorrow, when I arrive home, I will give you the prearranged password before I come inside. We'll change the password before I leave in the morning, making sure to write it down only so no one can overhear before it's used."

The boys agreed with this plan, and they finished dinner in silence after that aside from the baby's babbling. After they finished eating and Al offered to clean the kitchen, Roy snagged his chance to spend time with the baby by offering to let Ed take an hour or two to do his research. This was another of Roy's daily routines and he hoped it wouldn't be interrupted anytime soon.

Mustang Residence

6:00am

In difference to the change in routine, Edward and Roy were both getting up earlier to still allow Yuery to keep most things the same. Edward was the one to get him up and change him, but then after a few pointed questions he would hand the baby off to Roy to take a shower while Roy and Al got breakfast together.

Yuery had not spent the night in his crib since Greed's warning. Ed refused to risk his subconscious ignoring an intruder because he was used to either Al or Roy coming in to let Ed sleep longer. He also had not mentioned this to the other two for the same reason that passcodes were never used out loud until they were used, then discarded.

Roy would be changing the routine today, as he warned them last night. He was to meet an informant after work, then he wanted to visit Hughes grave. He promised to be home shortly after dinner, but to not expect him before that. Both boys were fine with that, though Al did ask if Roy could think of someone who could come over to help Ed for the afternoon so that Al could look into a lead of their own.

"Brother, will you be alright by yourself today? Between research and going to find a present I think I should be going soon." Al said pleased that for once Ed was completely alright with their celebrations. Ed nodded and agreed that he would be fine before scribbling down three passcodes and handing off two of them, keeping the third as a throw away so that should someone have to go back out later they would be covered.

Once that was settled Al and Roy both left for the day and Ed locked and sealed the door. He then returned his attention to his son, who was attempting to walk from the couch to the coffee table without letting go of the couch. Ed smiled at the sight even as he wondered if the child was already one today, and if the few days they used to change his birthday made a difference for him.

Brig. Gen. Maes Hughes Grave

6:00 pm

Roy waited in front of the grave for General Grumman to arrive, taking the moment to talk to his friend as he hadn't had the chance to recently. He once again promised to catch Maes' killer, then gave Maes an update on Elysia and his boys, though he assumed Gracia had been by recently to do the same judging by the fresh flowers.

He knew that some would find it foolish to stand here talking to a gravestone as if he was talking to the man buried beneath it, but it made him feel better. In these moments it was almost as if he had his friend back and was simply updating him on what had happened in Roy's life recently. When he noticed anyone walking nearby he would be sure to not speak until they had passed, then an elderly woman approached as he was attempting to finish a particularly funny story involving Elysia trying to get Cobalt to join her in a tea party.

As it turned out, the woman was Grumman undercover. Roy admitted to himself that it was a bit strange in his opinion but Grumman had always been strange as long as Roy had known him. Grumman was on board with helping their issues. He also had news on the girl the boys had been looking for which was both exciting and scary for Roy since apparently the girl had been seen going North. The two parted ways then, with nothing more to really say. Grumman left first, Roy stayed to finish his tea party story before leaving as well so that no one would decide that he had been sharing anything more than a conversation about the recently deceased.

Mustang Residence

11:00 am

Edward and Roy were trying to decide the best way to handle the search for this girl. On one hand, Ed was back to never leaving his son's side. On the other, he needed to pursue this lead and that close to a border that could have a massive riot at anytime.

Roy suggested that he could ask Gracia and Elysia to stay with him while Ed and Al were gone to help with the baby, but both were hesitant to drag the Hughes back into this mess. Roy then decided the best option would be to talk to Madame about possible child care, since it was unlikely he would be able to take more than a few days off, if that.

Major Armstrong had located Ed in the library that morning to hand him a letter of introduction to hand off at Fort Briggs. He had also offered the services of his youngest sister, Catherine, for childcare. Edward had thanked the man and promised to consider it before escaping both him and the President's son (who apparently was a fan of his)

The whole thing had left Ed feeling shaken and was not in the best mood to discuss childcare which Roy realized after Ed's third frowned snort and changed the subject

"I think I know how to pull off this trip. I hate it. You'll hate it. It might be the only answer. I want to talk to your mother directly." Edward said with a sigh as he hugged his son tighter.

"Of course." Roy said, but before he could ask anything else Ed was already walking out of the room and up the stairs. When Roy went to go check on him twenty minutes later he found them both sound asleep in the center of Ed's bed Ed curled around the boy with tear tracks down his face. The sight broke Roy's heart and he backed out of the room silently.

Roy found himself praying to a god he didn't believe in that this trip finally produced some real answers and that whatever plan Ed had come up with wasn't too painful for any of them. He feared it would be possibilities, each worse than the one before ran through his mind.


End file.
